Procedure of the Heart
by BrittanaWatson
Summary: Given the opportunity to work alongside one of the greatest diagnostic teams in America, Brittany Pierce is immediately drawn towards an associate fellow. Doctor!Brittana
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Yes, yes, I know I have two major stories that I should be updating rather than starting a new one but my imagination wonders and I can't help it. I've been watching a lot of House, M.D lately and I pictured Brittana in those situations and BAM this story popped into my head. Give it a try, I know FTM and ToE are still in progress and I am still working on them, but I have to work slowly to make sure I actually like what I'm giving you all to read. Anyway!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any characters/songs in this fic. Those you do not recognize are my own.**

**Twitter: BrittanaWatson**

**-B**

* * *

><p>October, 2014:<p>

You flinch in bed, under your covers, when a sharp sound reaches your ears; keeping your eyes shut tightly. You were exhausted, having fell asleep very late or very early however you look at it.

The first thing you noticed, still with your eyes closed, was the heavy panting coming from directly in front of your face. A groan escapes when you realize why you're awake, and you crack your eye open only a tad, catching sight of big brown eyes staring up at you. You clamp your eye shut and turn your head further into your pillow, only then registering how fricken cold it is in your apartment. You pull your knees up to your chest and try and push yourself further into bed, grunting when the bed dips and tiny paws are pressing into your side.

"Chess, go away." You groan, rolling slightly to get the dachshund off of you. You can picture his end half of his body moving side to side as he wags his tiny tail, and smile faintly. "Go away." You groan, rolling over. Chess lets out a sharp bark and you huff, opening your eyes. You glance at him and his tongue falls out of his mouth, his eyes bright and glistening with excitement. You grin at him and grab him in your arms, rolling over, snuggling him to your chest as he licks your chin.

You snuggle the pup for a few minutes before tilting your head and looking at your alarm.

"Shit…" you breathe and rip the covers off you, shivering at the cold air hitting your skin. You went to bed with only short pajama shorts and a sports bra, always getting hot at night anyway. You quickly walk out of your room to the hallway where the thermostat, cranking it up to get some heat going on.

You start the kettle, leaving it on medium, and run to the bathroom, flicking the light on. You grab your toothbrush, sticking it in your mouth after applying the paste, and lean back, looking out of the bathroom at Chess sniffing around the hall.

"Whoa, no!" you shout around the toothbrush and grab the pup before he can even think about lifting his leg. He licks happily at your chin and you scrunch your nose, opening the balcony door. Chess wiggles to get out of your arms and you place him down, watching him go to the patch of artificial grass. You lean against the door frame and brush your teeth, narrowing your eyes at the pup when he looks at you while holding his leg up. You shake your head fondly at him and give him some privacy to go and rinse your mouth.

You set a towel on the toilet lid and run to let Chess in, picking up his little gift and toss it over the edge of the balcony fence, watching it land in the large trash bin. You grin widely, very much pleased with the placement of the bin, and go back inside, hurrying to shower before the kettle starts shrieking.

* * *

><p>Pulling into the large parking lot, you squint and look around for the spot with a reserved sign holding your name. You maneuver through the long rows of vehicles in the lot until you find your parking space, a fair distance from the Hospitals front entrance. You park and turn the engine off, letting out a nervous breath as you stare at the building, watching doctors, nurses, and patients go inside.<p>

This was it.

You still couldn't believe your luck for getting an interview at the Hospital. Mercer-Ray has one of the best medical diagnostic teams in America and you, a _younger_ _woman_ from _Ohio_ not only got an interview, but a job. You were ecstatic. And nervous.

You never thought you'd be here; ever.

Dr. Puckerman was one of the finest diagnosticians you know of and getting to work beneath him is an honor.

You find yourself smiling faintly and shake your head, flipping down the mirror of your car and check your appearance. You wanted to make a good impression on your first day. Doesn't everybody? So you decided to keep your makeup as natural as possible while enhancing your cat-like eyes. You have always been told your hair look it's best when it was down and wavy and so that's how you did it. It fell with bouncy curls passed your shoulders. You give yourself a 8.5. Chess decided to snack on the heels you had at the end of your bed this morning, therefore ruining your entire outfit. Your second choice was a charcoal grey pantsuit, with a pink blouse, and nude heels.

You flip the visor back up and glance at your phone, widening your eyes at the time and basically kick the driver seat door open, scrambling out of the vehicle.

"First day, already late. Good job, Brittany." You hiss to yourself as you carefully speed walk through the parking lot.

You let out a breath when you step inside the heated building and unbutton your black wool trench, pulling your scarf further from your neck.

Your eyes dance over and along the walls of the building. It was emasculate. Beautiful and professional. A welcoming feeling washes over you and you shiver lightly, lifting your tea to your lips.

"Damn!" you yelp, lowering the steaming mug, and pout, lightly brushing your bottom lip.

You tense when you hear someone stop behind you, and hesitantly turn to look at them.

A tall Asian man lifts a brow at you, glancing from your hand at your lips to the tea in your other hand and looks around before giving you're a polite smile.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Ma'am?" he asks, pulling off his leather gloves and tucking them into the pocket of his expensive jacket. You blink, having been focused on his handsome face, and let out a nervous chuckle.

"Uh, no, I just…I'm good." You tell him with an embarrassed blush. He tilts his head and takes his hat off, pulling at his scarf.

"You're sure?"

"Yeah, thanks though." You nod and turn, moving to the elevators.

"Uh, Ma'am," he begins, catching up to you when you push to go up, "Are you visiting family? Can I take you to a room?" he asks with concern. You shake your head, waving your free hand and he straightens.

"No, not family or anything. I work here." You tell him and his brows shoot up in surprise. Your frown at his look and he shakes his head, laughing faintly, moving into the elevator with you.

"Sorry, you just seemed a little lost." He says and you tilt your head, not knowing if that should offend you or not. "Mike Chang." He says, holding his hand out to shake. You smile faintly and shake his hand, tucking your free one into your pocket. "How long have you been working here? I don't think I've seen you before." He says, "What floor?"

"Oh, uh, four I think." You nod and he smiles, hitting the button.

"Same." He grins, leaning back. "Sorry, go on."

"It's actually my first day." You tell him with a shaky breath, forcing a smile. Mike grins and crosses his arms, nodding.

"Nice."

"Yeah, I got an interview with Dr. Schuester last week and now I'm on Mercer's diagnostic team." You rock on your feet with some excitement, and your smile falters at Mike's surprised lift of his brows. "What?"

"I didn't know we were actually looking for fellow." He says before chuckling and stepping out of the elevator with you. "We're going to be working closely together…" he draws out, looking back at you. You pull your gaze from the halls looking for the office, and smile in apology.

"Brittany Pierce."

"Pierce." He grins, opening a door for you, "After you." He grins, motioning into the room with glass walls.

* * *

><p>You step inside hesitantly and look around. It was wide open with the walls for the hallway made of glass, 'Diagnostic Medicine' printed on the glass door. The corner had a small counter area, and a large table was positioned near the corner with chairs around the surface, a separate desk across the room. Another room, looking more like a separate office came off the diagnostic office with 'Dr. Noah Puckerman' written on the door.<p>

"I can grab your coat." Mike says bringing you out of your own head. You look over your shoulder at him and smile thankfully, handing over your coat after pushing your scarf into one of the sleeves. "This must be for you." He says, handing you a white lab coat while hanging your outside coat on a hanger by the door.

You look at it in your hands and smile faintly, slipping it on and flip your hair over your shoulders.

"Already looking the part, I see." You snap your head up, and smile timidly at the tan muscular man. Hazel eyes staring back at you with a grin. "You must be Dr. Pierce." He states, taking his coat off and hanging it, leaving him in pressed black slacks, a lavender shirt, sleeves rolled up to his forearms, and a black and grey tie. He runs his hand over his shaved head and walks over, holding his hand out. "Dr. Puckerman."

"Nice to meet you." You say, shaking his hand respectfully with a growing smile. He grins widely and nods, letting go of your hand to head towards the coffee machine.

"I see you've met, Dr. Chang." He says, glancing over. You nod and look towards Mike taking a seat at the table. Noah hands Mike a cup of coffee and the Asian man thanks him, giving you a smile as Noah walks towards a white board and glances at his watch. "Fifty says she's one time today."

"You probably made a deal to split so I'm going sit this one out." Mike laughs, shaking his head at your boss. Noah grins knowingly and drops his wrist, crossing his arm under his other while lifting his mug to his lips.

"So, Pierce." Noah begins. You lift your brows, waiting and look at the door when it opens.

* * *

><p>Your jaw drops as you stare at the gorgeous brunette whom just entered the room. Her dark mocha eyes focus solemnly on you as her plump lip purse tightly. She arches a brow in question while unbuttoning her cream trench coat, and hangs it up, retrieving her lab coat, never taking her eyes off you.<p>

"Time?"

"7:58."

"Damn, I would've won." Mike grumbles and Noah chuckles as you continue to stare at the Latina. You can't help but run your eyes down her body. Her white blouse hugging her bodacious chest just as well as her black pencil skirt does her hips and thighs. You don't know how anyone would be able to work in the black pumps she's wearing but the way they make her legs look longer, wow.

"You idiot's betting on me again?" she husks and you pert ear moan at her raspy voice.

"I would've made a fifty." Mike comments as the woman shrugs on her lab coat and glances at you, eyeing you closely.

"Who's…" she motions her hand to you, looking at Noah and you clear your throat, walking closer to her with your hand out. "Okay." She chuckles quietly, narrowing her eyes at the gesture.

"This is our newest fellow, Dr. Brittany Pierce."

"Right." She says slowly, glancing at your hand before grasping it firmly. She gives a solid shake, looking you in the eye, "Lopez." She says before dropping your hand and moving to grab herself a coffee. You wet your lips and turn around, looking at Noah and Mike. "I didn't know you were hiring." She says, looking at Noah.

He shakes his head with a smile and motions towards the table, offering you to sit. You do so, taking the seat closest to the door and try not to stare creepily at Dr. Lopez again.

"Schuester thought it would be better to add another." He tells her as she walks to the table a takes a seat near Mike. "Anyway, Pierce." He says and you straighten. "As important as getting to know you is, how familiar are you with the layout of the hospital?" he asks and you pull your eyes from Lopez as soon as she lifts her gaze from her coffee. You fidget with your empty tea mug and look at Noah.

"Dr. Schuester showed me around the floors for an hour or so. I can't remember a lot though." You admit and he nods.

"Alright." He puts his mug on the table and tucks his hands in his pockets, "Chang, I want you to show Piece around quickly. So you can find your way easily on your own." He says, looking at you for the last bit. You nod as Mike stands up and glance at Dr. Lopez sipping her coffee.

"Come on, we'll go to the operation wing first." He says, holding the office door open for you.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: What did you think? Heads up, the chapters will usually be shorter like so, although the occasional may be somewhere near 5000, not sure, this story isn't my main priority when it comes to updating, just something on the side that I have fun writing. Something different. AND I do not have a degree in medicine so excuse me if anything seems completely full of shit, I will try to make it authentic though. **

**So hit me up with the reviews and follows etc. I love hearing from you all. And as always you can tweet me questions about my stories and I'll be sure to reply. **

**-B**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Just wanted to say thank to everyone who reviewed and followed/fav'd! I don't know I think this story is fun, it's amazingly fun to write so yeah lol. Here's the next installment!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any characters/songs in this fic. Those you don't recognize are my own.**

**-B**

* * *

><p>October, 2014:<p>

"And this, as you've seen when you came in, is the clinic." Mike announces, holding his hand out as you and him walk through the doors into the main clinic area.

Within the hour and a half Mike had showed you the many operation rooms, different floors, all the test labs, MRI room, etc. Last spot was the clinic and your feet were starting to bother you from walking so quickly to keep up with Mike's long quick strides. "So, think you can find your way around a bit better now?" he asks jokingly, nudging your arm.

You chuckle and nod as you both turn around to leave.

"Hey, hey!"

You turn and look over your shoulder, Mike following suit, and widen your eyes at a tall blond man sinking to the floor, trying to hold himself up against the wall.

You and Mike exchange a quick look before you rush over and catch the guy before he collapses completely.

"Chang!" you call, looking at him with wide nervous eyes as he runs over, going to the other side of the man.

"M-my foot." He stutters in fear, looking up at you. You look down at him and he drops further, sinking to the floor. He blinks and looks between you and Mike completely terrified, "I-I can't feel my leg." He gets out and you and Mike exchange looks.

* * *

><p>"So, you're…" Noah starts as soon as you and Mike walk into the room.<p>

"We got a case." Mike says and Noah gets up from the chair, going to the whiteboard. You hand Noah a copy of the file and he flips it open while you hand Lopez the original. Mike sits at the front of the table and you lean back against the table, watching Noah pop off the cap of a marker while handing you the copy of the file.

"Daniel Rader." Mike says, "Claimed he his foot was numb before his legs gave out. Couldn't feel either. We drew blood, waiting in the lab."

You look up from the file as Noah writes 'Sudden numbness' on the board, looking at it before looking at all of them.

"What else?"

"That it." Mike shrugs, and you look between them.

"Numbness can be a symptom of hundreds of diagnoses." Dr. Lopez pipes up, giving Mike an unimpressed look. He ignores her and crosses his arms, squinting at the board.

"Well that's all we got to go on." He states and Noah nods, clicking the cap back on the marker.

"Lopez's right," Noah says, glancing at the woman, "It can be anything. Test the blood and talk to the patient." You all nod and Lopez gets up, heading to the door as Mike waits for her. "Was family called in?"

"His fiancée is with him." You say and they all look at you. Noah nods after a beat before pointing to you and Lopez.

"Chang you do the test, Lopez, you and Pierce talk to the patient and the fiancée. See if they can tell you anything. If he's been experiencing anything else that could give us more to go by."

You look from him to Dr. Lopez with wide eyes and she glances at you before nodding at Noah, leaving the room. You jump up to follow her and Mike lightly pats your shoulder before going the opposite way down the hall.

* * *

><p>"So, uh…" you start awkwardly, falling in line with Dr. Lopez as you walk down the hall, "What's your actual name?" you ask like a geek. You internally curse yourself when she side glances you before looking back down at the patients file.<p>

"Dr. Lopez is fine." She states and you huff quietly, nodding as she turns a sharp corner. You stumble and pause, looking after her before catching up.

"Well yeah, but, I know Dr. Chang is Mike, and Dr. Puckerman is Noah so…"

"Santana." She says in irritation, closing the file and hitting the down button on the elevator, "Now can we focus?" she asks pointedly, stepping into the elevator.

"That's a pretty name." You say, standing beside her. The doors close and you wait, fidgeting with your hands in front of you while waiting. "So what do you think it is?" you ask.

Santana sighs and gives you a sharp look, leaving the elevator as soon as it opens.

"If you were listening in the office, you would've heard me say it can be anything. We don't have enough symptoms to base our diagnosis." She says. You nod as you follow her and walk into the room after her. You falter at her strict tone with a frown. "Mr. Rader! How are you doing so far? I'm Dr. Lopez." You look at Santana like she's grown two heads at the immediate change in her tone and look at the patient with a reassuring grin, following Santana to the bed side. "This is Dr. Pierce; although I hear you two have already met." She chuckles after holding her hand out towards you. "We were hoping to get some family history, and just talk to you a little more to see if we can pull something to help our diagnosis." She says and you stare at her in amazement. Totally in awe of how she's taking control and so confident.

"Uh, yeah, sure." He nods faintly, furrowing his brows.

"I heard your fiancée is here with you?" she asks and Mr. Rader nods, motioning towards the door.

"Yeah, she just went to grab a coffee I think."

"Great." She smiles quickly, flipping to another page and pulling a pen from her pocket, clicking the end. "Let's start with your mother's side."

* * *

><p>"Well that gave us nothing." Santana mumbles to herself as you follow her out of the room. You nod and look at the file in her hands as she writes a few things down, walking away from the room. You keep up with her and semi face her, holding your hands out.<p>

"He said he's been playing a lot of basketball with friends lately, maybe it's a herniated disc." You say, lifting your shoulders. Santana barely casts you a glance, furrowing her brows as she continues to look through the patients file.

"It's not a herniated disc." She states and you huff quietly, sticking your hands in the pockets of your lab coat as she pushes the button for the elevator. "There hasn't been any major changes in…"

"Do you not like me?" you ask suddenly and Santana lifts her gaze, eyeing you head to toe before scoffing and stepping into the elevator. "No, really, have I done something?"

"Does it really matter if you did or didn't?" she asks, closing the file and holding it in front of her, "I'm here to do my job, help my patients, not become your new best friend." She says, glancing at you with a judging eye.

You shift, insulted, and take your hands from your pockets, crossing your arms defensively over your chest instead, "I didn't ask you to be my best friend. We're cohorts; I'm just trying to make conversation."

"Well unless it's about a patient," she begins and you open your mouth, "And not completely idiotic," she gives you a hard pointed stare, "I don't care to hear it." She shrugs simply, stepping out of the elevator and heading to the office.

You step out and watch her go, sighing dejectedly with a hand through your hair.

* * *

><p>"What do you got for me?" Noah asks as soon as you walk into the office. You pause, looking from him to Santana as she sinks down into a chair, crossing her legs slowly while flipping open the file.<p>

"Uh…"

"No family history of any illnesses besides the common cold. Majority of his family died from old age; excluding the few traffic accidents. He's not on any medication and there hasn't been any life changes that explain his symptom; he's been eating healthier they say, and he's been going to the gym more. The fiancée had some concern about him pausing randomly during conversations but that may be nothing." Santana informs Noah, tapping her pen lightly against the table.

Noah nods and glances faintly at you before motioning for Mike to go next, folding his arms over his broad chest.

Mike drops his hand from running it through his hair and shrugs, "His blood test was clear."

"Very helpful, Chang." Santana snorts and Mike rolls his eyes.

"Instead of being your usual bitch self, why don't you offer up some brilliant ideas." He says irritated.

"Myxedema." She says simply and Mike lets out a chuckle.

"He hasn't complained of any fatigue or depression. No sensitivity to the…" Mike goes on and Santana glares at him.

"And what's your diagnosis, Chang?" she bites as you watch them go back and forth.

"Demyelination."

"Right, you suggest that right after stating he hasn't experienced fatigue. Another thing he hasn't experienced which is a major symptom of demyelination is paresthesia." She states with a smug grin.

"Okay, enough." Noah tells them and Santana slowly turns her head to send Noah a glare. "So we have numbness." Noah sighs, looking at the whiteboard to the right of him. You shift, standing with your hands in your pockets and watch him tap the tip of the marker against his palm as he thinks. "Have you done an EMG?" he asks, squinting.

"You didn't tell us to do…" Mike begins.

"Do it." He nods, "Stick to the nerve conduction study, we don't need to waste time if it isn't an issue with his nerves. If the test is inconclusive, then run the muscle test."

Santana and Mike nod, getting up and walk around you, leaving the room. You turn to follow when a hand holds you back by your wrist.

You look back at Noah and he lets go, putting his hands on his waist while glancing at his shoes. When he lifts his head you swallow, "Are you feeling okay?" he asks and you frown in confusion.

"I'm fine." You shrug and he nods slowly, running a hand over his head.

"Look I get that it's your first day and our methods take a while to get use to but…Pierce, we're a team. You need to start offering suggestions and giving your input." Noah says, his brows lifted, staring into your eyes. You open your mouth, not sure what to say, disappointed in yourself for just slowing the team down, and close it, nodding firmly. He narrows his eyes faintly, searching your eyes for any sign of doubt and uncertainty, waving you off when he finds nothing.

You give him a nervous smile, turning and walking out of the room with your hand on your forehead.

* * *

><p>You watch from the doorway as Mike holds the patient's, Daniel's, arm, helping him carefully sit down in the wheelchair, and look towards Santana explaining what test you were going to be running and what exactly it is.<p>

Daniel looks from Santana to his fiancée, Amy, and gives her a reassuring smile before Mike begins pushing him out of the room. Santana gently places her hand on Amy's bicep, squeezing faintly in reassurance before looking at you and shaking her head, leaving the room. You straighten as she passes and roll your eyes, stepping out.

"Dr. Pierce?"

You pause mid step and spin back around, giving Amy a warm smile.

"Yes?" you ask, stepping closer. You tilt your head as you watch her, waiting patiently, and smile encouragingly when she looks up with a nervous smile.

"I-I thought of something that we didn't mention earlier." She says and your brows lift as you straighten, nodding for her to continue, "I don't know if it will help or anything though."

"Amy, most times when people don't think something can help us, it can." You tell her and she nods with a nervous chuckle. She rubs her arms and you nod for her to go on.

"Well, Daniel proposed four months ago and…" she shifts awkwardly, averting her eyes for a moment, "We've always been quite…active…when it comes to…"

"When it comes to sex." You finish for her, nodding. She grins and nods, chuckling with pink cheeks. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about. Sex is sex." You chuckle and she gives a genuine smile, her shoulders relaxing.

"Yeah, well…we decided not to take a break until our honeymoon, and then two months ago all of the sudden he just stopped." She says with furrowed brows, looking to the side, "He would always stop before it went further than kissing and…I just don't know why. I mean, it's weird right? And he didn't say we'll just wait for the honeymoon, we just stop and don't talk about it." She sighs.

You bite your lip as you glance up, thinking, and look back at her, giving her a reassuring smile and squeeze of her arm.

"I'll talk with my team. We'll figure out what's wrong." You tell her and she nods with a relieved breath. You chuckle and drop your hand, turning to head to the office. Mike and Santana can handle the EMG themselves, right?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Review, Follow, Fav! Don't wanna say that the more you review, the faster I'll try to update but... ;) No, no, I'll try anyway.**

**-B**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Glad you're all liking the story so far. **

**I just wanted to thank you for the reviews etc. and address one of you guys who mentioned them wanting Britt to step up as a doctor kinda, seeming like she doesn't know much. This chapter should fix that in your eyes, hopefully. More Brittany/ Santana interaction in this chapter, this may be one of my favorites so far. Also meeting another Glee character in this one so yay for that. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any songs/characters in this fic. Although characters you don't recognize are my own.**

**-B**

* * *

><p>October, 2014:<p>

"Where the hell did you disappear to?" Mike chuckles as he and Santana walk back into the office. You look up from the file on the table and Noah sits down on the edge of the table, pointing the marker at you as he addressed the two.

"Rader's fiancée talked to Pierce when you two went to do the EMG." He said and Mike lifted his brows, leaning against the wall while Santana stood near him, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

"What'd she say?"

"Apparently our patient cut off sex two months ago. They didn't agree to wait for their honeymoon, he just stopped initiating." You answer and she scrunches her nose.

"And that's supposed to help us?" she asks, giving you an unimpressed look before turning to Noah. "EMG was negative." She says and Noah sighs heavily.

"What do we think it could be?"

"Atherosclerosis?"

"_That's_ _it_?" you ask as Noah gets up and starts pacing slowly. You hold your hands out in disbelief, "We're not going to take the sex thing into consideration?"

"Pierce, I know I told you to throw out your suggestions but…"

"But their sex life, or lack thereof," Santana says, leaning forwards, gripping the back of the chair closest to her while staring at you, "Doesn't help us."

You clench your jaw and shake your head, looking down at the file in defeat.

"Unless…" Mike speaks up and you glance at him as does Noah, Santana shaking her head. "What if there's a reason for him not wanting sex?"

"Every guy wants sex." Santana states, "He could be getting it somewhere else. Wouldn't surprise me, all men are pigs." She says, sitting down. You shoot her a disgusted look and she grabs the file from in front of you with an arched brow.

"No," Mike shakes his head, pushing away from the wall. You all watch him walk to the table and arch a bow when he lightly knocks this index finger knuckle on the table, "What if it's not that he wants to wait, or isn't interested?" he asks, nodding once with meaning. Your lips part as it comes to you, and apparently Noah and Santana as well.

"You think it could be a symptom." Noah states and Mike nods. You look at Noah and he wets his lip before writing 'flaccid' on the board beneath 'sudden numbness'. "It could be a B6 deficiency, autonomic dysregulation."

You pull your gaze from Santana, observing her manicured nails, and at Noah.

"We can test heart rate, blood pressure, and tumescence in the sleep lab to test his impotence?" Mike suggests.

"Why not." Santana mumbled, "Give him one of Puck's porno magazines he keeps hidden in the bottom right drawer of his desk." She says slowly, turning her head to flash him a knowing smirk. You furrow your brows at the name and look at Noah. He clears his throat and nods to Mike before excusing himself to the clinic.

"He has porn at work?" you ask aloud and Santana hums, getting up. You get up with her and Mike lets out a laugh as he walks back into the connected office from Noah's separate one.

"You think he's into the outdoorsy type?" Mike asks, tossing you the magazine. You fumble to catch it and blush deeply at the page it's opened to.

"I'd rather not think about it." You mumble, holding the magazine out to Santana. She eyes you with an amused smirk and take the magazine, scanning her eyes over the page quickly before closing it and rolling it up, putting it in her lab coat pocket. "Pierce, you're coming with." She says and you gape in shock as Mike slows to stand beside you, hands in pockets with a surprise smile.

"Why me?" you ask and Santana pulls the door open.

"Because if I'm in a room with Chang any longer, I'll most likely strangle him. I can only handle so much Asian at a time." She say with a pointed look at Mike.

"I'll be in the café if you need me." He pats your shoulder before walking out of the room. You look at Santana and she motions an over exaggerated sweep of her arm towards the door, making you crack a faint grin and lead her out of the room.

* * *

><p>"Uh…" You and Santana raise your heads from the monitors in the small glass chamber in the large testing room and look at Daniel lying on a single bed with cords taped to various parts of his body; holding the magazine in his hand. "This is kind of…no, it's really humiliating." He says and you hold back a smile as Santana chuckles under her breath.<p>

You shake your head and lean towards the mic, pressing the button to let you talk, "Just relax, Daniel. We're going to close the blinds and give you privacy right after we finish getting set up in here. Alright?" you ask and wait for him to nod before smiling at him and releasing the button.

"When the fiancée talked to you," Santana begins, reaching across you to turn a knob, "Did you actually think she gave you decent information?" Your eyes lock on her hand and run up her arm until you glance at her face, and wet your lips, shifting to straighten in your seat.

"No." you answer honestly.

Santana pulls her arm back and adjusts a few of the monitor settings, nodding slowly, "So why'd you get all defensive when I shut it down?"

"Because you were being a bitch and I wanted to prove you wrong." You tell her simply and turn your head to look at her when her fingers stop along the keyboard. She looks at you and you shrug, "It's true."

"It was stupid to believe him not wanting to go further than kissing is a somehow relevant."

"Yet look where we are." You tell her and she rolls her eyes, reaching forwards and closing the blinds, "Go ahead, Daniel." You say into the mic and lean back, waiting for a something to show up on the monitor.

"We're only doing this because Chang managed to sucker Puck into this nonsense."

"Why do you keep calling him Puck?" you ask with a frown, picking fluff off your coat.

Santana runs a hand through her hair and shrugs, "S'what I always called him."

"What do you mean?"

"He went by Puck from the time he was eleven until he was accepted into John Hopkins."

"You knew him when he was so young?" you ask in curiosity, turning your chair to face her completely. She nods once, eyes focused on the monitors. "How?"

"We're basically family." She sighs, squinting and leaning forwards, "Blood pressure and heart rate are rising." She points out.

"Basically family?" you tilt your head to the side and Santana side glances at you.

"We're cousins." She reveals before lifting her brows and leaning closer to the monitors. "He's erect." She states, dropping her gaze to the file in front of her.

You widen your eyes and roll your chair closer to her, putting your hand on the back of her seat as you look closely at the monitor, "Did he just…?"

Santana follows your gaze and arches a brow, pressing on the mic button, "Alright, Daniel, we got what we need from here." She says and releases. You wait a moment for his reply and exchange looks before you open the blinds. "Shit." She breathes, jumping out of her chair.

* * *

><p>Santana drops to her knees by his side and you look at her as she presses her fingers to his neck.<p>

"His hearts racing." She says quickly, pointing behind you, "Get the pads."

You move quickly, grabbing the defibrillator and set it on the floor, as you kneel on the other side of Daniel. You pull open his robe, revealing his chest as Santana grabs the pads, and squeeze the gel onto one. Santana rubs them together quickly before positioning them correctly on his chest and looks at you. "Charging…"

You nod and she nods in return, "Clear!"

You flinch when his chest lifts from the shock and feel for a pulse when Santana lifts the pads from his body. "Go again." You say quickly and jump to your feet.

"Get someone in here." She tells you just before you grab the phone from the wall and bring it to your ear. "Clear!"

"Page Dr. Chang and send a bed down!" you shout before hanging up and running back over to Santana and Daniel. His chest jumps and you check for a pulse, letting out a relieved breath when you feel it has slowed down to a normal rate. "Thank god." You breathe and Santana puts the pads back, running a hand through her hair just as the doors open and Mike comes in with a bed and two nurses. One of the nurses and Mike rush over and help get Daniel up, and carrying him to the bed.

* * *

><p>"Myxedema, Demyelination, and Atherosclerosis aren't the problem." Santana says, sinking into a chair in the office. You run your hands down your face and look at Mike when he speaks up.<p>

"It could be sepsis." he suggests, "Explains the erratic heartbeat."

"No," Santana says with a shake of her head, holding it in her hand, elbow on the table, "Grave's disease makes more sense. Heart palpitations, erectile dysfunction, and weight loss."

"Weight loss is easily explained by visiting the gym more often and his diet changes." You say.

"Graves is the most logical." Noah states and Santana tilts her pen towards him in thanks for agreeing with her. "Radioactive iodine therapy."

"You want to _nuke_ his thyroid." Mike states and you look at Noah in shock. "Without even knowing if he really does have Grave's?"

"Santana could be wrong and then…" you say, shaking your head.

"Of course she could be wrong but it's our best bet." Noah says and Santana rolls her eyes. You shake your head in disagreement with him and he sighs, running his hand over his head with his eyes closed tightly before opening them. "Fine, do an iodine uptake to be certain." He says an all of you leave the room.

* * *

><p>"Well not all of us needs to be there for the test." Mike says as the three of you walk down the hall. You drop your hand from tucking hair behind your ear and look at him. He lifts his shoulders, hands in the pockets of his lab coat and cracks a faint smile. "Am I wrong?"<p>

"No, you're completely right, Chang." Santana says, turning down a different corridor.

"Where are you going?" Mike calls and Santana spins around walking backwards with a smirk.

"You two can handle the test, can't you?" she says, disappearing down the hall.

"Technically it only takes one person to…"

"Have fun." You smile, patting his shoulder as you head for the elevator as he stops by the floor reception desk. "I'm thinking early dinner." You give him as a reason and hit the lobby button; giving him a playful wave as the doors close.

You watch the red indicator light decrease floor numbering and let out a sigh when the door opens, stepping out.

"Huh, I would've bet you'd be left to run the test."

You look over your shoulder as Santana walks towards you from a hall leading to stairs, with a thoughtful expression.

"Why me?" you as the two of you head for the cafeteria. "Wait, let me guess, because I'm the new kid and am scared to piss of my boss?"

Santana cracks a faint grin, pushing the door open to the café and gets in line for food, "Because you care for your patients."

"And you don't?" you challenge, grabbing a tray after Santana, and grabbing a packaged Caesar salad, chicken wrap and bottle of water. You were starving, only having eaten a bagel for breakfast, and a granola bar for lunch; and it was already a quarter to five.

"I do, we all do, but you're overly sympathetic and empathetic. You try and connect with them on a personal level while the rest of us, minus Fabray, one of the oncologist, just stick to diagnosing and treating."

"And trying to connect with patients on a personal level is…wrong?" you ask with furrowed brows, pulling a ten from your wallet, handing it to the register lady with a polite smile after Santana pays for her sandwich and ice tea.

"If you get close with a patient your emotions will undoubtedly cloud your medical judgment and you'll screw up. It's happened before and it'll happen again." You shake your head as you slide into the seat across from her at the small round table and she pauses from pulling her chair in, glancing at you, "What are you doing?" she asks and you freeze from taking a drink of water.

"Uh," you draw out, holding your free hand out, "Eating?"

"This is my table." She states pointedly and you give her a look.

"Oh grow up, Lopez." Comes a slightly nasally voice from behind you. You follow the short haired blonde with your eyes as she walks to one of the two remaining unoccupied chairs at the table and Santana rolls her eyes, picking up her sandwich. The blonde smirks and takes a sip of her coffee, "She gets cranky if she doesn't eat." The woman says and you smirk at Santana's annoyed look.

"What now, Fabray?" she grumbles.

The blonde shakes her head at Santana before facing you and holding her hand out, "Quinn Fabray, fourth floor oncologist." She greets with a polite smile. You take her hand and shake gently but firmly.

"Brittany Pierce, diagnostic medicine. Nice to meet you."

"You as well." She chuckles, pulling her hand back before crossing her legs and dropping her hands to her lap. "So today's your first day."

"Why do you say that?"

"You scream neophyte." Santana cuts in as Quinn opens her mouth.

"Shut up, Santana." She rolls her eyes as you scowl harmlessly at the brunette, "I was going to say because I haven't seen you before now and Puck was going on about his hot new fellow." You flush at the compliment and lick your lips, glancing at Santana bashfully.

You catch her lift and lower her brows quickly with a tilt of her head and narrow your eyes at her faintly.

"Anyway, who are you, Brittany?" she asks and you arch a brow as Santana snorts.

"Her way of asking for your background."

"Oh!" you nod and drop your hands to your lap. "Well, I'm 31, turning 32 in a couple months, um…no siblings. I got my degree at Duke," you list and catch Santana glance up at you, "I'm a rheumatologist with a residency in immunology."

"Impressive." Quinn nods interested, leaning forwards and pointing at Santana while looking you in the eye, "Lopez went to Duke as well. You two never ran into each other?" she asks, looking at the brunette.

"No. Now go away." Santana growls, glaring knowingly at the blonde. You tilt your head with curiosity and look between the two seemingly having an argument with their eyes. "God you're annoying."

"You know I'm right." Quinn says, taking a sip from her coffee.

"You couldn't be more wrong actually." Santana says, leaning back and running a hand through her hair.

"What's your case?" Quinn asks, turning her attention to you.

You shift and let out a sigh, tapping your fingers against you water bottle, "24 year old male. Symptoms include sudden numbness in his legs, impotence, and erratic heartbeat. We're running an iodine uptake at the moment."

"Who exactly is running the test if you're here?" Quinn laughs and you grin, "Let me guess, Chang?"

"You would be right." Santana mumbles.

"I usually am." Quinn smirks.

The brunette rolls her eyes and looks down when her beeper beeps. You watch her pull it from her waist, and grab your own when it goes off.

"As pleasant as this had been, we actually have jobs to do." Santana says faking a sweet smile to the oncologist. Quinn shakes her head at her friend and you get up, giving Quinn a smile.

"See you again."

"Good luck."

* * *

><p>"Results?" Santana asks as you and her fall in line with Mike, each standing on one side. He looks up from writing in the patient file and arches a brow at Santana before glancing at you and looking ahead as the three of you continued down the hall towards the office.<p>

He opens the door, holding it for both of you before following you in and tossing the file to Noah making his way into the team office from his personal one, "Thyroids normal. Good thing we didn't nuke it like you wanted us to."

"That's such a relief." Noah says sarcastically, flipping open the file and lifting his coffee to his lips.

"Don't be an ass, you'd be panicking if you made the wrong call and we went through with it." Santana says knowingly, crossing her legs after sitting on the edge of the table. You take a seat in the chair closest to her and look up at her when she makes the comment.

"So thyroid is normal but…" he trails off, furrowing his brows as he looks at the paper, "His body's not filtering the iodine. His kidneys are shutting down?" he asks in surprise, looking at Santana and you before Mike. Santana holds her hands up in surrender and Mike moves forwards, taking the file from Noah and handing it to Santana.

"Well, guess we can add in autoimmune." Santana says softly, narrowing her eyes as she flips through the file.

"Alright, we'll take this up tomorrow. Go home; get some sleep." Noah says, flashing a warm grin, pecking the side of Santana's head. "I'll get him on temporary dialysis."

She grimaces and pushes him against his chest, making you smile at the fondness between the two, and Noah chuckle. "I mean it, Santana, rest." He says strictly and Santana rolls her eyes, watching Noah go into his office. "See you all at 8." He calls before the door closes behind him.

You look from Santana to Mike as the Asian man exchanges his lab coat for his outside coat, tying his scarf loosely around his neck and slipping on his gloves.

"See you girls tomorrow." He grins, saluting as he leaves. Santana shakes her head at him and turns her head slowly, looking at you.

You widen your eyes and she narrows hers with a faint smirk. Your lips twitch into a small shy smile and Santana's smirk grows before she's on her feet and shrugging her jacket on.

You get to your feet and hesitantly walk over, slowing as you get closer to her. She was a very attractive woman, and for some reason that made you nervous. You've never been all shy and timid when someone attractive was around you but there was something about Santana Lopez that you found so alluring.

"S'cuse me…" you mumble reaching for your coat. Santana just fixes the collar of her jacket while watching you, and you slip your arms into the sleeves and button up the front before putting your scarf on. "It was nice getting to work with you today." You admit and Santana snorts.

"Charming." She chuckles, shaking her head, buttoning her jacket. "Also, it's been one day. You haven't seen nothing yet." She smirks, glancing up at you through her lashes. You swallow and she scans your face before spinning on her heel and leaving the office.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yay for Quinn! Writing her is always so fun, in whatever story.**

**And once again, this is based off House, M.D right, and so my medical info and treatments, medicine, etc. is all coming from the particular episode and the show in itself so don't bite my head off if any of you are studying medicine or have a degree and I butcher everything LOL. **

**Let me know what you thought! And heads up, for those of you reading other stories of mine as well as this one. I'm officially off for winter break, a about a month free so hopefully you'll get a few updates for my other stories, Turn of Events, and From This Moment, if not at least one. Just a heads up! ;)**

**-B**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys and gals! Ignore that lame intro...and we'll get straight to the next chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any songs/characters in this fic. Characters you don't recognize are indeed my own. **

**-B**

* * *

><p>October, 2014:<p>

You blink your eyes open and squint at the light coming in through the open blinds, lifting your hand to cover your eyes as you push yourself up on your other elbow. A yawn rips through and you turn, slapping your hand down on your night table, trying to find your charging phone. You wrap your fingers around it and unplug the charge from the bottom, lifting the galaxy to your face.

The alarm hasn't even gone off yet. You punch in your pin and turn off the alarm before it blares through the room and drop your arm to the bed, smiling tiredly when Chess's tiny head pokes up from the foot of your bed. You at the covers and he jumps, scratching the comforter as he struggles to get up with his tiny legs.

A fond giggle leave your mouth and you whistle, snapping at the side of you bed. Chess run around to your hand and you wrap it around his midsection, lifting him easily into your lap. "Morning, cuteness." You mumble, kissing his head. He laps away at your chin and you smile, letting him move around on your bed.

When you got home yesterday from work you took Chess for his walk and came home half an hour later diving right in to making yourself dinner. Garlic chicken, fried rice, and asparagus. Delicious. You hum at the remembrance of the first bite and swallow right as your stomach growls.

Chess, pausing from chewing on some of your blanket scrunched between his tiny paws, looks at you and tilts his head; his one ear hanging from his head.

You look back at your phone and notice you're still half an hour early before you're supposed to be up, and throw your legs over the side of your bed, scooping Chess into your hand. He was only six months, still has a puppies bladder although he hasn't had an accident in the past three weeks which you called a blessing.

Chess smells around the artificial grass before lifting his small leg, his tongue hanging out of his mouth as he pees. You chuckle at his cute nose wiggling as he sniffs the air and go to set the kettle when he squats to do more of his business.

You lean against the counter of your decently sized kitchen and turn the knob on the stove watching the burner turn red before placing the kettle atop it. You retrieve a travel mug from the counter and put a teaspoon of gingerbread tea in the tea strainer before placing the strainer in the cup, waiting. You make sure the kettle is on low heat before letting Chess in and filling his bowl with water. You deal with his mess on the balcony before getting ready for work.

This time you chose a more casual approach; black pumps, dark blue skinny jeans, a charcoal fitting t-shirt, and thin black suspenders. You apply a fair amount of makeup, not caking your face, and smack your lips together after applying your pink gloss. You pull your hair into a high ponytail, the ends going just past your shoulder blades, and barely curl the tail to add some bounce.

Satisfied, you leave the bathroom when the kettle begins to shriek and lift it from the burner, pouring the water into your mug. Chess runs into the kitchen, and throws his small toy frog over his head, pouncing at it, making you smile widely at his playful puppy antics.

You take a look at the clock and debate leaving now and having half an hour to do nothing but wait for the others to show up. Others. Santana. You roll your eyes when your mind goes straight to the brunette and watch Chess play while an image of Santana sitting at the office table with her legs crossed, biting the end of her pen permanently sticks in your mind.

She seemed like a nice person once you got to know her more. Of course she's overly confident with her appearance and medical ability. But she has every right to be. She knew how to handle situations when you drew a blank or panicked, i.e., with Daniel. As you thought about it, you realized you were really, really lucky to be working with the people you do. And Quinn seemed nice enough.

You recheck Chess's water dish and put a small amount of food in his bowl for him to nibble if he feels like a snack, he doesn't eat until you get home so no accidents, before grabbing your jacket, accessories and keys; leaving the apartment.

* * *

><p>"…You're early." Noah comments as he walks into the office. You smile at him, lifting your mug to your lips, and sigh as you lower it.<p>

"I woke up earlier than usual." You offered as an explanation. He nods and heads to his office, hanging his jacket up and getting coming back out for a coffee.

"Think of anything last night? To help with the case?" he asks, taking a seat beside you. You shake your head 'no' and he nods, "Me neither." He sighs heavily, running his hand down his face. You spend minutes in silence, sipping at your drinks when your beeper goes off.

You lower your mug to the table and look at Noah as he straightens from his leant back position before looking at the tiny screen.

"It's Daniel." You tell him, looking at him with wide eyes. You get up and quickly leave the room, Noah watching your go.

"Dr. Pierce!" Amy calls you, tears in her eyes. You rush over from the elevator and put your hands on her arms, searching her eyes.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know…he just." Her lips trembles and you squeeze her arms and go passed her into Daniels room. You furrow your brows as he lies there, eyes wide and mumbling. "I just asked him how he was feeling and he started snapping at me. Telling me to get rid of that damn bird?" she shakes her head, holding her arms around herself as you move to Daniel's bedside, checking his monitors and IV.

"Daniel?" you say softly, dropping your eyes form the monitor to him.

He mumbles quietly and you lean forwards faintly only to jump when he explodes, "I said shut that damn bird up!"

"Daniel, there is no bird…" you try to calm him but he shakes his head furiously, clamping his eyes shut before snapping them open and glaring up at the ceiling.

"Ugh! When will that damn bird stop it's screaming." He snaps and you freeze, looking back at Amy to gauge her reaction. She shakes her head, holding her hands in front of her mouth as tears fall from her eyes, and you swallowing, looking back at Daniel.

You narrow your eyes at him and lean further down, noticing the tiny beads of sweat on his forehead, and the faint tint of his cheeks. You press the back of your hand to his forehead and lift your brows, pulling your hand back.

"He's burning up." You whisper and step back, calling for a nurse to tend to his fever before giving Amy a reassuring smile. The male nurse with shaggy blonde hair comes in and you do a double take when you catch his hair in a tiny ponytail. You shake your head faintly and glance back at Daniel, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he scratches reddened skin on his forearm. You turn and head for the office.

* * *

><p>"He has a fever," you announce as you walk into the room. Mike and Santana pull their attention from each other, looking as if they were in the middle of a heated argument, and Noah heads to the board, writing it down. "He's also experiencing some delirium." You say slowly, crossing your arms as you tell them, "Started screaming at his fiancée to stop the <em>bird's<em> screaming." You add and Santana rolls her eyes. You take note of her hair done in perfect waves, and the low cut black top with the long necklace. You run your eyes down her legs, the tight grey pencil skirt showing off her smooth toned legs, and accented with her cream pumps. "And he has a rash forming on his left forearm."

"So he's septic." Mike says holding his hands out.

Noah looks at the board after writing the rest of the symptoms, and nods, "But what infection does he have?" he sighs, narrowing his eyes at the board.

"Fungal infection. Tetanus, Pneumococcus…" Santana lists off while you squint, grabbing the folder Mike slid over after you beckoned for it.

"Could be Lyme disease." Mike adds and Noah turns to them.

"Listeria and rat bite fever could be it too." He says, tapping the marker against hi palm. "Start him on broad-spectrum antibiotics." He says and you furrow your eyes as you look up from the file and at the white board.

Mike and Santana get up and do as instructed while you look back at the file and reread Daniels information.

"Something bothering you, Pierce?" Noah asks, standing beside you. You snap your head up and shake it, forcing a smile as you close the file and leave the room.

* * *

><p>"Dr. Pierce," you turn around and smile at Quinn as she approaches you in the hallway.<p>

"Hey, Quinn."

"Hey, how's your patient doing?" she asks, joining your side as you begin to walk towards the elevator. You hit the down button and step inside with her.

"They're thinking he's septic, we have him on broad-spectrum antibiotics." You shrug, sighing as you close the file again and look at Quinn.

"They? You think it's something else." She says and you shrug.

"I don't know. Noah's diagnosis makes logical sense but…I don't even know what I think. I have a theory but…" you shake your head and Quinn hums.

"No fine work can be done without concentration and self-sacrifice and toil and doubt." She says pointedly, smiling faintly when you lock eyes. "Max Beerbohm."

You roll your eyes with a grin of your own and come back with, "Modest doubt is the beacon of the wise." Quinn lets out a genuine laugh and you chuckle with her. "William Shakespeare"

"There you go!" she beams, squeezing your bicep reassuringly. "If you have an inkling go with it. That what being a part of a diagnostic medical team is about. Making the right diagnosis, even if that means contradicting the others on your team."

You let her words sink in and nod, giving her a smile before getting out of the elevator, "Thanks." You tell her genuinely and Quinn nods with a grin when the door slides closed.

* * *

><p>You slow as you get closer to Daniel's room and see Santana and Mike talking to Daniel and Amy, with Santana swapping IV packs, hooking the antibiotics. You chew lightly at your bottom lip watching Mike laugh at something Daniel says, Amy smiling in relief, and swallow, ducking your head as Mike and Santana leave the room and head down the hall, dropping off a file at the floors desk.<p>

"How's he doing?" you ask, stepping into the room with one hand in your pocket, the other holding a copy of Daniel's file.

"He's doing well, Dr. Lopez and Dr. Chang just set him up with antibiotics." She breathes through a wide smile and you nod, lifting your gaze from the paper in the file. "What is it?" she asks, suddenly worried.

"Nothing." You tell her quickly and she shakes her head.

"You look like there's something wrong." She says, glancing at the file. You close it with a smile and glance at Daniel, eyes closed and breathing even.

"I'm just doing some checkup." You say. Which _is_ true. "I was wondering if you happened to leave anything else out of the information you provided us with yesterday. Anything at all."

"Um…I-I don't think so." She shakes her head with her brows furrowed in thought.

"You said he's changed his dietary habits. What exactly does he eat on a normal basis?" you ask, and Amy crosses he arms, chewing her bottom lip as she thinks.

"He has toast and eggs in the morning, lunch he packs steamed vegetables, some rice most days. He has bags of sunflower seeds with him for a snack throughout the day. Then it's usually red meats, chicken, pork throughout the week for dinner with rice or potatoes and vegetables."

You nod, nothing really sticking out at you and look back over at Daniel, "What does he usually drink? He's a new journalist right? Lots of coffee?"

"Oh, no actually. Only in the morning, maybe twice a week. Usually he has orange juice or tonic water."

You turn your head and look at her with your brows lifted, and walk over to Daniel quietly, not to wake him, "How much tonic water?"

"That's pretty much all he's been drinking for the past two months. I don't get it, it's pretty gross."

"Yeah, not for everybody." You say, your focus on Daniel's left forearm. You look at the rash and then move to his right forearm, the lack of rash, and carefully check his chest area and his shins before letting out a breath.

"Is something wrong?" Amy asks and you look at her, shaking your head with a soft smile.

"Everything looks fine." You tell her and she lets out a relieved breath, going to Daniel's side and taking his hand. "I'll leave you two alone." You tell her quietly and head for the door, taking another look at Daniel's monitor, noticing the lack of change.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I apologize for the lack of Brittana in this chapter, but it's basically a filler. I could've doubled up this update but the next one will be up Tuesday anyway, maybe Wednesday so I guessss you can all wait with the dreaded cliffhanger. Sorry again, lol! Loves!**

**Although, a little challenge. If we can get 15 reviews before Monday, I'll post the next chapter. So 15 reviews for Chapter 4 before Monday = Immediate Chapter 5 update. Let's see if you guys can do it and how fast. ;)**

**-B**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Daaayum, guys! You really wanted this chapter update. Literally I woke up to 18 reviews. Well then, as promised, here's the next update. Also, I meant to point this out earlier, Mercer-Ray is fictional hospital.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any songs/characters in this fic. Any characters you don't recognize are my own. **

**-B**

* * *

><p>October, 2014:<p>

You push open the door of the team office and look around for Noah, heading to his personal office when he's not there. He looks up from the paper work on his desk and turns off the quiet rock music he had playing, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest.

"What's up?"

"It's not an infection." You tell him and his brows shoot up. His lips pull into a tight line and he nods stiffly, getting up from his chair to grab a cold drink from his mini fridge.

"Is that so." He says and you nod, holding out the file to him. He looks at it and takes it, flipping it open, scanning his eyes over the pages and newfound information. "Pierce…" he sighs, shaking his head, dropping the file to his desk. "It's an infection." He states and you shake your head, looking to the side.

"It's not an…"

"It is, Pierce." He says firmly, and you flinch, "It makes sense. Chang and Lopez agree."

"There are…"

"I don't want to hear it. Just get him on antibiotics."

"Santana and Mike already put him on." You mumble and Noah nods, waving his hand towards the door to dismiss you. You let out a heavy breath and leave his office with a clenched jaw. You knew you were right. You shake your head as you walk down the halls with purpose.

* * *

><p>You spot Santana standing at the fourth floor desk talking to a thin nurse with a fair skin tone, and brushed back hair. She was smirking and the man was shaking his head with a smile at something she said.<p>

"Santana!" you call, jogging over. She looks from the man to you and arches a brow. "I need to talk to you." You say before looking at the boyishly handsome man, "Hi, I'm Brittany Pierce; I work with Noah's team."

"Kurt Hummel; stuck as a nurse." He jokes and you chuckle, nodding.

Santana gives him a mocking smile and he scowls at her before sending you a smile and excusing himself. You watch him walk away before looking at Santana and clearing your throat.

"It's not an infection." You tell her and Santana lifts a brow.

"Pretty sure you were there when we agreed on infection." She says slowly and you shake your head.

"It's an allergy." You tell her and she snorts.

"He doesn't have itchy eyes or trouble breathing. The most common symptoms of an allergy." She says, "And if it _was_ an allergy he wouldn't have numbness, rapid heart rate, fever, basically everything he's showing." She shrugs, rolling her eyes while looking back down at the file.

You huff and give her a pointed look, "In rare and severe cases you can display numbness, rapid heart rate, fever, etc."

"Bring it up with Puck." Santana growls and you start getting frustrated.

"_Puck_…he won't believe me."

"And you think I do?" she laughs, "I'm only here because I want to see your reaction when you realize you're completely out of it."

"Santana," you whisper, stepping closer, "He's been drinking tonic water basically every day. He's _allergic_ to quinine. We need to start him on steroids."

"Are you crazy? If we give him steroids and it's not an allergy he'll die." She hisses and you cross your arms, matching her glare.

"If we don't he'll die." You tell her firmly. Santana shakes her head and eyes you carefully before turning to walk away. "Santana, just trust me on this."

"Trust you?" she laughs, turning to face you again, "We're doctors. We make diagnoses based on logic and science, not trust. We're not friends either, so why would I risk someone's life because you asked me to trust you?" she snaps, glaring at you harshly. "It's pretty obvious this is not the right job for you. I told you, you let emotions cloud your judgment. You could've proved me wrong but you proved me right." She says coldly and you swallow the lump in your throat as you watch her spin and walk off.

* * *

><p>You look up from the water, hands holding each side of the sink, and into the mirror. You look yourself in the eyes and avert them because of the red from crying. You are strong, never one to cry over something so petty like hurt feelings, but you feel completely useless. You know you're right, that your team in wrong, but there isn't anything you can do about it. Noah didn't believe you, Santana didn't believe you, you didn't bother going to Mike to have him repeat what you've been told from the others.<p>

The only one who seemed to have faith in you was Quinn and you only met her yesterday, and have had maybe a total of ten minutes talking to her. You look back into the mirror and think of Amy and Daniel. He'll die if they're wrong; like you know they are. Your jaw clenches and your knuckles turn white as your grip on the sink tightens.

You're out of the bathroom in a flash and storming to the pharmacist with purpose.

"Hey, you must be Dr. Pierce." The tall goofy looking pharmacists greet with a boyish smile. You give him a quick smile and look down before nodding to yourself.

"Uh…Finn," you say after squinting to read his nametag. He smiles, "I need 100mg of Methylprednisolone, please."

His brows lift and he opens his mouth to comment before nodding and going into the room to retrieve the drugs, handing the small jars over. You thank him, signing the log with your name before pocketing the medicine and heading for the elevators.

* * *

><p>"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Santana shouts, storming into the room. You snap your head up from injecting the medicine into his IV and look back down to continue. "You do realize what you're doing right? I should call fucking security." She hisses and you shrug.<p>

"Then call them." You tell her before shooting her a hard look, "But I'm not letting you three kill him."

"You're out of your damn mind." Santana says, moving towards you. You push another 20mg before tossing the syringe out and staring at the sleeping Daniel.

"The antibiotics weren't helping. No progression. I told you it wasn't an infection."

"Antibiotics take a while to have affect."

"It doesn't take more than half an hour. It's been three." You tell her and get rid of the jars and plastic. You walk passed Santana and before you can leave she grabs your arm, spinning you around.

"You could lose your license." She states and you look between her eyes before nodding. "And you're willing to put your career on the line to prove me, Puck, prove us all wrong?"

"I'm willing to put my career on the line to save a patient from dying, and his fiancée from a broken heart." You tell her and her grip loosens as her eyes soften but barely. You pull from her grasp and leave the room.

* * *

><p>"Quinine allergy is positive." Mike says, walking into the office. You let out a relieved breath and Noah lowers his cup from his lips.<p>

"You're sure." Santana says and Mike nods, handing her the test results. "You have got to be kidding me." She chuckles in disbelief, glancing up at you. She furrows her brows and opens her mouth, shaking her head as she hands Noah the papers.

"Well…I guess the case if solved." He says slowly, and you glance at him nervously. "Good work." He nods, "Tomorrow at 8." He says before heading to his office. "Oh, and Pierce, if you ever pull anything like that again…"

"She saved our patients life." Santana cuts him off and you all look at her. "You can't fire her for that." She says before getting up and grabbing her jacket on the way out.

Noah leaves and Mike nudges you with is shoulder while fixing the collar of his jacket.

"You free for a drink?" he asks and you tilt your head. "A few of us grab a drink after we solve a case, and you're part of the team now. Plus you're the one who closed it." He grins and you part your lips, thinking quickly before nodding. "Great, I'll follow you home so you can drop off your car and ten we can head over."

As he said Mike follows you in his car to your apartment and you run in to let Chess do his business before filling his food dish and running out to Mike's car. He drives you to a bar five minutes from the hospital and parks, giving you a wink before the both of you get out and head inside.

You walk next to him as he leads you to a long table where eight people are sitting, two chairs open at the end. You spot Santana laughing with Quinn and Kurt and she slowly looks towards you, lifting her drink to her lips when you offer a tight lipped smile. She nods in return and Kurt and Quinn follow her gaze, smiling and waving you and Mike over.

You claim the seat next across from Kurt, Mike sitting beside you and that blond male nurse from earlier who you learnt goes by Sam. Then there was Finn, the pharmacist, Sebastian, a radiologist, Mercedes, and Rachel both nurses.

"So you're the mysterious Brittany Pierce?" Sebastian asks, your eyes locked with Santana's.

"That's me." You nod with a polite smile, eyes never leaving the brunette, lifting your bottle to your lips.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So there's the end to _that_ mystery diagnosis.** **There was one of you guys, maybe two or three, but one for sure who had reviewed a while back, asking if I was only doing this one case and then the story would be finished. No, this is only one of the many cases that will be in this story. **

**Basically, you'll see Brittana in the hospital and outside of the hospital. The majority of the medical is from House episodes, although I try to change a few things up so it's not straight up copying, and the non medical stuff is all me. So there will **be an equal amount of medical, and non medical storyline in this fic. ****

****Also, I have no idea how long this fic will actually be but I have a semi idea of how this will indeed end. ****

****So, I'm thinking we'll try that challenge thing again. Let's say, seeing as we almost got 20 reviews for last chapter, that we in fact aim for 20 reviews this chapter and I'll get an update up Wednesday. Hope you liked this chapter! Some outside world coming next time. ****

****-B****


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Okay! So firstly I want to apologize for basically demanding reviews in exchange for fast updates. I didn't really mean it like how it appeared but that''s no excuse. I shouldn't have done that, and a couple of you told me as much, although you didn't need to. I thought about it myself after I had posted and yes I agree what I did was wrong. If you want to review etc. you shouldn't feel obligated because someone gives you an ultimatum. So no more "Challenge" nonsense! And please dont hate me :(**

**Secondly, this was one of those stories I just started that was just for fun and have a few chapters written which is what I'm updating, but when I run out of these already types up chapters, I don't know how often you'll get updates. This story is not my main focus, more like something to do while I battle my writers block for my other 2 stories. **

**And lastly, I'm sorry for not updating yesterday like I said. I completely forgot, and now one of those "omg I forgot!" bullshit, like a genuine "I'm so sorry, I completely forgot." I remembered while I was laying in bed last night going to sleep, and I was too comfortable to move, legit, like when you know you should but you're body is way to content with where you are so it's like you can't actually move even if you wanted to. So I'm updating as soon as I woke up, hope that's okay.**

**So here is the next installment; Chapter 6!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any songs/characters in this fic. Characters you don't recognize are my own.**

* * *

><p>November, 2014:<p>

It was your fourth week at Mercy-Ray and it was better than you could've expected. You have become great friends with the crew, aka those you grabbed your first drink with after the Daniel Rader case. They were all welcoming and hilarious; you always have a good time when you're around them. Noah seemed to forget all about you acting without his orders and you've found a friend in him as well. Santana on the other hand…

You were civil with one another. Sure you refer to her as your friend but she still acts the way she did during the first case when it comes to you. She doesn't give you the time of day when it's something personal, like asking to grab drinks or inviting her over for dinner with the rest of the crew. You know she's not interested in becoming your friend. Although you do know she respects you and your suggestions when it comes to a patient…well most of the times.

You can't seem to keep your eyes off of her when you're in the same area either. She just oozed confidence wherever she went and you recently came to the conclusion that you find confidence an absolute turn on.

Kurt might've called you out on your tiny crush your third week at the Hospital when you and Santana were sent to perform a bone marrow biopsy. He had been there offering assistance, and caught you staring at her mouth as she smiled widely at something the patient had said while the procedure took place. You tried to avoid him the rest of the day but he managed to track you down before you left the building and squealed in excitement when you blushed as he voiced his suspicions.

You couldn't help it. Santana was just…amazing all around. She had a perfect body from what you could tell from the tight clothing she wore, a radiant smile, silky, shining hair, gorgeous brown eyes and a beautiful brain. She was one of the smartest women you've ever met.

And her laugh, god her laugh. You've only heard it a couple times, mostly around Quinn and Mercedes, but it was the most angelic sound you've ever heard. The first time you witnessed her laughing was when you were at the lounge and your waitress shut Sam's lame attempt at flirty down, hard. Santana burst out laughing, head thrown back, dimples on display and causing your gaze to snap up and settle on her as you smiled fondly.

"Um…Dr. Pierce, why are you smiling?"

You lift your head quickly and stare at the teenage boy holding his two year old brother in his lap. You rid the smile from your face, blushing faintly and clear your throat as you get up from the stool and set the red folder on the stool.

"Sorry," you tell him and look at the little boy, smiling at him. He stares up at you with tearful eyes and a runny nose, his mouth open. "Okay, this will be a little uncomfortable." You tell him before lifting your gaze to the brother holding him, "Make sure he doesn't move, okay?"

"W-wait, what are you going to do to him?" he asks quickly in panic as you move to the counter in the small clinic room and open a drawer pulling out tweezers. His eyes widen and he holds his brother's hands in his lap as you move back in front of then and bop the kid's nose.

"Hold still, okay?" you ask gently and the little boy watches you with wide eyes, pulling his head back. You grasp his jaw gently but firmly and lift the tweezers to his nose, carefully extracting the tiny toy cat from his left nostril. He sniffs and you smile widely at him, stepping back and arch a brow at the older brother looking at the cat dumbly. "Next time make sure he doesn't have access to anything small and dangerous." You tell him, handing him the tweezers before grabbing the folder and bidding farewell.

* * *

><p>"Can you put this in the…" You start.<p>

"Hey, Brittany!" you look over your shoulder at Kurt's call and smile as he stops beside you, handing the receptionist another clinic folder, "You say you want to lose control!" he sings and you roll your eyes with a chuckle, the receptionist looking between the two of you in amusement.

"I never said that." You state and grab another folder, looking through it.

"Ah!" Kurt says, taking the folder and shoving it in the hands of another doctor walking passed you. He gives Kurt a confused look as you give him an apologetic smile and go to take it back. "Pierce, you've already completed six clinic hours this week. Space them out! Plus, I need lunch." He says, linking his arm with yours as he leads you out of the clinic.

"Kurt," you say pointedly and he shrugs.

"You already missed lunch, and I know you get grouchy when you don't eat." He says with an arched brow, leading you into the café.

"That's not me. That's Santana."

"Oh, silly me." He smirks and you pin him with a glare. "Anyway, any progress on Operation Brain?"

"Operation brain?" you ask, grabbing a tray as does Kurt. He nods.

"Yeah, we can't call you winning over Santana Operation Lopez or something that people can easily figure out. Operation Brain. She's a neurologist. It fits." He says with a sly grin. You tip your head in agreement, and smile at the lady behind the counter when she places a BLT sandwich on your plate with some Caesar salad. "Anyway, so, progress report."

"Kurt," you groan, paying the register lady before following Kurt to a table. You stop and send him a disbelieving look. He just smirks and heads over to the booth, bumping into Santana to make her scoot over and give him room.

"Come on, Britt." He says and Santana and Quinn look at you; Quinn smiling and Santana rolling her eyes at Kurt.

You make your way over and Quinn moves closer to the wall to give you room to sit. You place your tray down and slide in, greeting the two women, eyes lingering on the Latina a little longer than necessary.

"So!" you jump at Kurt's exclamation and look at him with wide eyes as he clasps his hands together on the table, a beaming smile on display. "I was thinking of having people over for a fancy dinner this weekend and you three lovey ladies are cordially invited." He tilts his head with a pleasant grin and you look at him while poking your salad. Quinn arches a brow and Santana slows her chewing, pausing from lifting her glass to her lips.

"Yeah, I'm going to have to turn down that wonderful invitation." Santana says before raising her glass and taking a sip. She jolts forwards, bringing her hand up under her chin when Kurt snatches her glass away giving her an incredulous look.

"What do you mean you're turning me down?" He asks with narrowed eyes. Santana glances between you and Quinn before looking back at Kurt and swallowing, wiping her chin with a napkin.

"I simply don't want to go." She says, taking her water back.

"Santana!" Kurt exclaims, holding his hand to his scrub covered chest.

You feel Quinn shift in her seat and turn your head, smiling at her eye roll directed to the two across from you, "Every time someone invites her somewhere she makes a big deal of not going only to mess with the host." She whispers while Santana and Kurt argue back and forth. "They act like they're five." She states, looking at you in amusement.

You chuckle along with her and tilt your head as you continue to watch Kurt and Santana go at it.

"You know what? Fine! Starve this weekend." Kurt says, throwing his hands up and gets up from the booth. You look at him with wide eyes as he grabs his plate of fries and storms off, leaving his tray on the table. Santana rolls her eyes and shifts over, moving his tray underneath hers before pushing both to the side.

"He's such a child." She comments and Quinn barks out a laugh. "What?"

"You're _both_ children." Quinn says, leaning forwards, "We all know you're going to end up going to the dinner so why do you have to be so irritating?"

Santana smirks and you feel the toe of her heel hit your ankle as she crosses her legs, "Because it's fun." She says with a simple shrug before glancing at you. "Although I may not go. I need a break from you idiots." She sighs, running a hand through her hair. Quinn nods skeptically and you poke your fork into your salad, putting the food into your mouth.

"Hey!" you protest when she snatches your fork, taking a bite of the leafy meal. You snatch your fork back and pout, riding it from your face to scowl harmlessly at the Latina. Santana smirks and you stab viciously at the salad, narrowing your eyes at her.

"God, not you too." Quinn shakes her head with a smile. You and Santana look at her and she pats your forearm, "Looks like I adopted another five year old." She says with a teasing glint in her eye. You open your mouth to protest before Santana cuts you off.

"If I'm your child I expect a twenty dollar allowance every week." She says, leaning back with her arms crossed. Quinn just arches a brow and takes out her wallet, tossing a twenty at Santana before nodding for you to let her out. You close your mouth and move out while Santana blinks and stares at the twenty in disbelief.

Santana reaches to take it and Quinn snatches it up, smirking, "As if." Quinn laughs, leaving the café. You and Santana look at each other before you start laughing and she scowls.

"Shut up." She says and you nod, waving your hands in front of you. "Seriously, Pierce."

"You should've saw your face." You snort and she rolls her eyes. You clear your throat to stop laughing and grab your glass, having a drink.

* * *

><p>You walk back into the clinic and grab a folder, heading into one of the rooms. You pause when you walk in and close your mouth.<p>

"My breasts are really tender." The woman says.

You tear your eyes away from her chest and look at her face, your eyes widening at how attractive this woman really was.

"Uh…okay." You mumble and clear your throat looking in the folder, "So, it's just your breasts are tender? Nothing else?" you ask, closing the folder and putting it on the stool before walking over to stand in front of her after grabbing gloves, lifting your hands and looking at her for permission. She nods and you lightly press your fingertips into the side of her left breast, furrowing your brows as you feel for any lumps.

"I've been getting a lot of headaches lately and I have to pee all the time." She rushes out making you glance up at her through your lashes. She smiles at you and you shift to the other breast.

"Alright," you say quietly, stepping back.

She plays with her shirt in her lap and you focus on her stomach, tilting your head to the side.

"Uh…Amy," you say slowly, finding her name in the folder. She looks up at you with a straight back and you smile, holding the folder in front of you, "You're pregnant. Congratulations." You tell her and she furrows her brows, shaking her head.

"No, I can't be. I haven't been with a man for at least three months."

"That would make sense, seeing as how you aren't really showing I'd say you were just coming up to the three month mark. The tender breasts, headaches, frequent urination are all symptoms of pregnancy."

"But you can't be sure just by…"

"You also have a protruding vein in your abdomen." You cut her off and watch her head bow for her to search for the vein. "During pregnancy blood volume increases by about 30%, and in order to carry the blood to the placenta, veins need to expand. It's perfectly normal, just another visual to help determine your pregnancy. I can schedule you for a test if you'd like." You offer and Amy nods once while staring at you in shock.

You nod and glance around before motioning to her chest, "You should probably cover yourself." You say and she blinks, pulling her shirt back on as you leave the room.

You head over to the desk and toss the receptionist the folder, leaning down to rest your arms on the desk, "Can you send someone in to draw blood for a pregnancy test, room 107; thank you."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And there you have it. There will be a lot of Clinic duty you will see throughout the story, because the cases will be spread out; or major cases that you'll actually know are going on. So there will be outside-hospital chapters next. You'll learn more about Brittany too, which is exciting. It's kinda subtle though. I think, maybe not, i don't know. But the next few chapters were my favorites to write, especially not the next, but the one after that :)**

**Hmm, I'm not going to give you a specific day because I don't know myself, but I'm going to aim to update for...Sunday? I'll try and get it up Sunday morning for ya'll.**

**-B**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: So here's your update, guys! It's a little on the short side and more leading towards the next chapter which is a longer one. Get to reading, loves!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any songs/characters in this fic. Characters you don't recognize are my own.**

**-B**

* * *

><p>November, 2014:<p>

You lay flat on the floor after your fiftieth sit up that morning and tilt your head back looking at an upside down Chess staring at you from your living room couch.

"Did I wake you?" you ask playfully and Chess releases his tongue from his mouth, almost smiling at you. You giggle at his cuteness and roll onto your stomach, beginning your set of push up with your hands together, thumbs and index fingers forming a triangle.

It was Saturday and you couldn't be any more thankful for your weekend after a long week of nothing but clinic duty and easy diagnoses. Some would find that quite confusing; shouldn't you be happy you had an easy week? One would assume so. But you didn't take the job hoping for easy, you took it for a challenge, and when you get bored, you get tired; and having to work nine hour weekdays doing nothing but filling out scripts for inflammatory and antibiotic medication makes you restless.

At least on the weekends you can organize your day so you aren't bored and get things done. You're a doer, that's it.

After your thirtieth push up, you slowly lower your body to the ground and raise your body back into a plank to work your core. You hold for the length of Eminem's Bezerk playing in your head before getting to your feet and stretching your arms over your head.

Chess lets out a tiny bark and you drop your arms, grabbing your water from the coffee table and guzzle it down.

You woke up at 8. It was now 9:40 and you could finally shower and get ready for the day after your work out.

* * *

><p>You pull your hair into a messy bun, running your eyes over your face in the bathroom mirror, checking for any mishaps of your makeup, and then leave the bathroom, flicking the light off as you went.<p>

Chess runs into your shin with a toy in his mouth and you quickly scoop him up, kissing his head.

Checklist for the day; grab some coffee, pick up groceries, and go to Kurt's dinner. Those are your three main goals for the day and the past times in between could be anything. You place Chess on the couch in the living room and grab you coat from the back of the suede grey chair your mother gave you for a house warming and slip it on, wrapping your scarf loosely around your neck before grabbing your purse and leaving the cozy apartment.

* * *

><p>The caramel macchiato runs down your throat leaving you to hum happily at the delicious taste as you walk into the grocery store. You grab a cart with your free hand and pull it from the others, turning it and heading straight for the bakery.<p>

You grab a loaf of bread along with a small bag of bagels and carry on to the vegetable and fruits.

You set your coffee in the drink holder attached to the cart and lean forwards, ripping a bag from the stand, putting a bundle of bananas in the bag. You do the same with kiwis, oranges, and apples and tie the apple's bag while lowering it into the cart.

You grab your coffee and take another sip as you maneuver the cart through the aisles, adding a carton of milk, a container of yogurt, a package of steak, and a package of chicken breasts to the cart.

"Okay…" you mumble, tapping your fingers against the coffee as you look at the contents of your cart. You estimate the total and nod to yourself, heading down the aisle to quickly grab another box of your tea before heading to the checkout. You pause when you come towards the pet aisle and can't help but throw a cute blue and yellow squeaky plush ball into the cart.

The man at the register pulls your items through as you get your car out and you smile politely at the younger man at the end bagging.

"Hello, how are you doing today?" the older man asks, smiling as he scans your items.

"I'm doing well, you?" you reply automatically and he grins, nodding; beginning to punch in the total.

"I'm doing alright. Debit?" he asks and you nod, sliding your card into the tiny machine and punch in your pin, pulling it out and tucking it away when 'approved' flashes on the screen. "Do you need any help out to your vehicle?"

"I think I can manage." You chuckle and smile at the young man as you push your cart towards the exit.

After you get everything put away in your trunk you return the cart and slide into the driver seat, starting the engine and check your phone for any missed calls or texts. There's one call from 'Mom', a text from Quinn, and a text from Sam.

**New Message From: Sam Evans**

**Hey, Brittany! I was wondering if you needed a ride to Kurt's tonight. Let me know :) **

You smile faintly and shake your head. _That boy_.

**Message To: Sam Evans**

**Hey, I already got a ride with Mike. Maybe next time, thanks anyway!**

You sigh, knowing you shouldn't give the guy false hope but you're too nice like that. Next you reply to Quinn; her asking the same question. You thank her but decline before dialing your mom's number, and turning the Bluetooth on in the car as yo pull out.

"_Brittany, hello sweetheart_."

"Hi, Mom." You smile, checking both ways before turning onto the main road. "You called me. What's up?"

You hear her hum and slow behind a car at the red light, "_I was thinking of coming out next weekend. What do you think_?" you can only picture her beaming smile and let out a soft chuckle as you are let in front of a car. You wave in thanks and turn.

"That'd be great, Mom. I'd love to see you." The light turns red again and you rest in your seat, letting your head hit the head rest. "Is that all you wanted to say?" you ask with furrowed brows.

"_Pretty much_." She sighs and you tilt your head, "_I wanted to hear your voice_." A sad smile forms on your face and you chew your lip faintly in understanding.

"Have you talked to Dad recently?" you ask quietly, straightening and pushing on the gas.

"_Monday_." She answers and you hum, "_I'm sorry, honey, it's just_…"

"I understand, Mom. You don't have to explain yourself to me." You tell her, parking in the liquor marts lot. "I know how much harder it is around this time." You add, shutting the car off.

"_You're right_." she chuckles and you smile sadly, watching the people enter and leave the building. "_I'll let you go, dear. I'll find a flight for Friday_."

"Email me the arrival confirmation." You say, "Love you."

"_Love you, Brittany_."

You end the call and rest your head back, letting your eyes close lightly.

* * *

><p>You fill Chess's water and food, grabbing your heels from beside you as you stand up. Chess runs to the dishes as you step out of the way and you grab your coat, sliding it on over your dress.<p>

It was almost 6 and Kurt asked everyone to come for half after.

When you got home from purchasing a bottle of wine for the host of tonight's dinner you took Chess for his walk and proceeded to have a small lunch while watching a lame lifetime movie. It wasn't terrible but wasn't worth watching ever again when you're bored. Then you huddled on the couch with Chess snuggled into your side and finished reading the most recent book you've started.

Your phone beeps and you grab it, checking the text and send a reply to Mike letting him know you'll be right out.

You wrap your scarf and button your coat, slipping your feet into the heels before grabbing your clutch and leaving the apartment, locking the door behind you.

You carefully descend the stairs and push the front doors of the building open, smiling when you see Mike in his long trench coat waiting outside the car. You walk up to him and frown with a head tilt.

"You smoke?" you ask and he laughs, flicking the unlit cigarette away.

"God no, a buddy of mine left a pack in my car and I was disposing of them." He explained, pointing to the ground where unlit cigarettes were stomped out on the road. You let out a laugh and he winks, opening the passenger door. You slide in, thanking him, and he runs around to the driver door, sliding inside and pulling into drive. "Your first Hummel gathering. I envy you." He jokes making you laugh and shake your head at him.

* * *

><p>Mike pulls into a large enough parking lot and goes straight for the visitor parking, turning the engine off after pulling in between a red minivan and a silver sports car. You tilt your head and smile once you realize its Noah inside the sports car, and he lifts his head, nodding at you in greeting.<p>

You get out first and wait for Mike and Noah the end of Mike's car. Noah stands beside you, and fixes his collar of his coat and Mike comes over, the car beeping when he pushes a button on his starter. The three of you walk to and into the gorgeous condo building and you shiver involuntarily, following Mike and Noah to the second door on the first floor.

You hold the bottle of wine in your hands and look up from its label when the front door opens and smile widely at Kurt.

"You all came together?" Kurt asks through a chuckle, opening the door wider and motioning for you to come in.

"Mike and I came together." You tell him and he nods, "This is for you." You tell him, holding out the large bottle.

"You didn't have to." He smiles, accepting the gift, "Ou! My favorite too." He cheers happily and you lift your brows, thanking Mike when he helps with your jacket before hanging it in the foyer coat closet. "Everyone's in the dining room."

You hold your clutch at your side and follow behind Kurt, Mike and Noah following you, and smile in greeting to the rest of the crew already sitting and standing at the table.

"And she's here!" Mercedes grins, holding a glass of wine up towards you. You laugh softly and wave, accepting a glass of white wine given to you from Sam. "Damn, girl, you are looking fierce." She says and as you swallow a sip. You chose a form fitting long sleeve navy blue dress and white pumps. Your hair in a long high pony tail, tail straightened. Your makeup was a little more smoky this time around and you had to agree, you did look pretty fierce.

"Oh, thank you, I love your necklace." You tell her, looking at the silver pendant. She nods and lightly clinks your glasses together while a laugh catches your attention.

You flip your ponytail over your shoulder and look towards the sound, your breath catching when you see Santana standing beside Quinn and Rachel in a tight red dress cutting off mid-thigh, the back of the dress open down to the small of her back. Her hair was in perfect bouncy waves and bangs falling forwards as she dips her head, biting her tongue as she laughs. You look at her legs, calves toned and smooth, highlighted by the tall black pumps, and bite your lip.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So a little talk with Brittany's mama. We'll dip a little more into what's going on there in future chapters. Hope you all enjoyed it! ATM I'm writing a chapter that I absolutely love. A lot of Brittana interaction in that one. Shouldn't be to many updates before you get to read it. **

**Next update...I'll say Tuesday or Wednesday. **

**-B**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Update baby!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any songs/characters in this fic. Characters you don't recognize are my own.**

* * *

><p>November, 2014:<p>

"Brittany!" Quinn calls you over and you snap your gaze up, catching Santana's knowing stare, and excuse yourself from Mercedes now conversing with Kurt and Sebastian.

"Hey." You smile, returning Quinn's one armed hug, keeping your drink from spilling. You hug Rachel as well and turn to Santana, looking at Quinn and Rachel for direction.

"Brittany." Santana says in greeting, lifting her drink with a twitch of her lips. You roll your eyes and shift.

"So, do we know what he's serving?" you question quietly, leaning towards the girls as you whisper. Santana arches a brow while Quinn and Rachel chuckle.

"Probably some overly fancy duck or some shit." Santana says and you look at her appalled.

"Duck?" you ask and she nods slowly, eyeing you.

"You have a problem with duck." She states and you glance towards Kurt laughing with Sebastian as he touches his arm.

"Duck's are my favorite animal, I can't eat one." You tell the three with a pout and Rachel nods in understanding, holding onto Quinn's wrist as she leans towards you.

"Quinn and I brought a vegan dish you can have with us." She whispers and you squint, letting out a small laugh.

"You're drunk?"

"A bit." She says before laughing, resting her head on Quinn's shoulder. You eye the two of them as Quinn shakes her head at the brunette's antics, and then transfer your gaze to Santana, a grimace set firmly in place. "Excuse me for a moment." Rachel says, handing Quinn her glass before kissing the blondes jaw and leaving the room.

You stare at Rachel's departing figure before looking at a sheepish Quinn Fabray.

"You two are dating?" you hiss and Santana snorts a laugh when Quinn shifts. "Oh my god, Quinn! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Never came up."

"How did you not know? They're always making out when we leave the lounge." Santana says and you shake your head.

"I just thought they were hammered." You breathe in disbelief, "Wow, I can't believe I didn't figure it out. Four weeks."

"In your defense you haven't seen us together besides at the lounge, and even then it's only been about five times." Quinn says while you tilt your head back, drinking. "Anyway, no more about Rach and I. Let's talk about who you dressed up for." You narrow your eyes at her and she grins knowingly, spinning to face Santana. Your eyes widen. _She knows too?!_ "So."

"I'm not playing your games, Fabray." Santana says, rolling her eyes as she walks passed you. She stops short and you look at her from your wine glass as she runs her eyes down your body from beside you. "Although this is a nice dress." She nods, dropping her hand to lightly hold the wrist of your empty hand. You swallow, watching her eyes lift from the fabric as she grins slyly, "Soft." she adds before leaving.

* * *

><p>"You <em>so<em> have a thing for Santana!" Quinn squeals quietly, pulling you farther from the entire group.

"_Shh_!" you hush quickly, glancing back towards them with wide eyes, "And no, I don't."

"Bullshit. I saw the way you looked at her." She grinned with excitement. You shake your head going to argue but she pinches your arm making you yelp. "Do not lie to me, Brittany."

"Fine." You huff, glancing around, "I may have a bit of a crush on Santana but you _can't_ _tell_ _anyone_! Well, I mean Kurt knows but…I don't want _her_ or the others to find out and this affect our professional relationship." You say quickly and quietly, begging her to keep quiet with your eyes. She nods in agreement and you let out a relieved breath. "Thank you."

"So what are you going to do?"

"Nothing!" you groan, "Why do you people think I'm going to make a move? I don't _want_ to be crushing on a coworker. It makes things difficult."

"Not if she feels the same way."

You give Quinn a pointed look and she shrugs, "Please just…forget about it."

"Fine."

"And you can't tell Rachel either."

"I won't…"

"Quinn." You say firmly and she huffs.

"Okay! I swear on Rachel's life I will not tell her you're into Santana."

"Who's into Santana?" Rachel asks appearing beside you and Quinn. You look at Quinn incredulously and she winces, looking at Rachel.

"Who's into Santana?" she repeats with a tilt of her head.

"What?" Rachel asks in confusion.

"What?" you say quickly and she furrows her brows deeply, shaking her head.

"Uh…I'm confused."

"Oh look the food!" you squeak, retreating to the dinner table with Quinn leading her girlfriend after you.

* * *

><p>"Okay, okay, to be fair she was beyond gone." Noah grins widely, lifting his glass to his lips as everyone around the table laughs at his story. You were all situated around Kurt's long rectangular dining table. Kurt and Noah at the heads of the tables. To Noah's left was Sebastian, then you, Mike, Mercedes, and then Kurt. Continuing, on Kurt's left was Rachel, Quinn, Santana, and then Sam who then had Noah next to him.<p>

Your cheeks hurt from smiling too widely as you lift another forkful of Rachel's tofu, pasta dish to your lips. Kurt had apologized multiple times after learning you didn't eat duck and you let him know repeatedly it wasn't his fault for he didn't know in the first place. The vegan dish was actually pretty good despite the tofu.

Santana scowls at her cousin while pouring herself another glass of wine, "You know what, I ain't even ashamed." She declares with lifted brow and a careless shrug while putting the bottle back in the middle of the table, "At least I have more than one exciting story to tell whereas your younger years are about as exciting as paint drying." She smirks and you hold your hand over your mouth to keep from spitting out your food when you laugh. Dark eyes shift their gaze to you and your amused smile turns bashful as you drop your hand and reach for your glass. You were sitting directly across from her which gave you the perfect view of her brilliant smile when she laughed.

Santana clears her throat, wetting her lips, and arches a challenging brow at Noah.

"I have stories!"

"Yeah and how many of them include me?" she smirks. Noah huffs and runs a hand over his head, shaking it at his younger cousin before cutting another piece off his meat. "S'what I thought."

"Alright, someone else, Brittany!" Kurt beams as you snap your head up with wide eyes, "Any particularly funny yet humiliating stories you'd care to share with the group?" he asks with a playful glint in his eye.

You narrow your own at him and glance around the table before lifting a shoulder, "I'm afraid I don't have as exciting life as Santana." You say, looking at the Latina through your lashes.

"No, Hummel's right," Santana smirks. You lift your brows when you feel her kick your foot gently, guessing she's crossing her legs under the table, and shift in your seat, "You're the new kid in the school, and we don't know nearly as much about you as you do the rest of us. Spill." She rests her elbows on the edge of the table, clasping her hands beneath her chin as she arches an expectant brow at you.

"No, really, there isn't…" you try when Mike nudges you from your left.

"Come on." He grins, nodding.

You sigh heavily and Rachel is the first to whoop and cheer, getting the rest of the table, bar Santana, to join in. The Latina just rolls her eyes after looking around at the idiots she calls friends, and takes a drink.

"Fine." You throw your hands up and drop them to your lap before reaching for your glass again, "Um…okay. It was my first year in university and I met this guy, Robert, although everyone called him Chase. He was in the majority of my science classes so we became friends pretty quickly. Anyway, I was never really one to go to a lot of parties but he was so he dragged me to this party at one of the dorms." You tell, everyone leaning into the table as they listen, "It was insane. The floor was packed. Every room was open and blasting their own music and the hall was full of students dancing and making out…"

"All that good stuff." Noah winks and you roll your eyes along with Santana as the others chuckle and hush him.

"Anyway, we went into this one room started dancing and drinking, all that, and it didn't take long for me to get hammered." You chuckle in embarrassment, "Long story short, I woke up on a bench in the campus park, hugging one of those blow up dolls, in nothing but my underwear." You finish in a mumble, cheeks burning bright red as the table erupts into fits of laughter. You shrink in your seat, glancing around at everyone and your eyes land lastly on Santana biting her lip to keep from laughing as she studies you with an amused glint in her eye.

"Oh my god, that's priceless!" Noah laughs, leaning back in his chair at the head of the table.

"Please tell me there are pictures?" Mercedes giggles, ripping out her phone. "You went to Duke, right?"

You groan and hide your face behind your hands, leaning away from Mike and smile faintly when Sebastian pats your shoulder.

"Oh my god, Brittany, you look so cute!" Mercedes squeals and you drop your hands, eyes wide.

"You actually found a picture?" you squeak, reaching across Mike for the phone. Mercedes laughs and pulls it out of your reach, showing the picture to Kurt.

"Brittany!" he laughs, holding his hand over his mouth as you get up. He hands squeaks and thrusts the phone into Rachel's hands as you circle the table to her, and she pushes it to Quinn who gives it to Santana.

"Quinn!" you exclaim, stopping behind her and stare at Santana with wide eyes.

She arches a brow at you with a smirk and looks at Noah telling her to pass it along so the rest could see, and looks at the picture, letting out a soft chuckle before handing you the phone.

The table lets out groans and you wince at the picture and how embarrassing it is, before closing the window and glare at Mercedes.

"Girl, as if you just did that." She says to Santana as you go back to your seat with a huff.

"Would you want Puckerman and the idiots to perv on a picture of you half naked?" she asks with a sly grin. Mercedes snatches her phone from you and you narrow your eyes at her before looking at Santana.

"Thank you." You say pointedly before giving looks to those who actually saw the picture.

Santana nods and looks at her plate, "I knew you were fond of ducks but on your panties?" she comments with a smirk, glancing up at you through her lashes. Your face blanches and the boys erupt into laughter as Kurt and the girls snicker.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Next update...hmmm, Friday or Saturday.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey guys! Glad you're all enjoying this story so far. More Brittana in this chapter. A lot more actually. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any songs/characters in this fic. Characters you don't recognize are my own. **

**-B**

* * *

><p>November, 2014:<p>

"Another amazing night by Kurt Hummel." Mercedes sighs as she pulls her coat on in Kurt's foyer. It was already close to eleven and a few of the group needed to get up bright an early for an unlucky Sunday morning shift. Thankfully, you were not part of that group, although Quinn, Rachel, Sam and Sebastian were and so those were the ones leaving; as well as Noah who had some head of department business to attend to.

You give hugs to those leaving, going to be staying to hang out with the remaining of the crew for a while longer, and step back so Kurt can say his goodbyes.

"It was lovely having you." He sighs, letting go of Quinn. She smiles sweetly at him and takes her scarf from Rachel with a thank you. "We'll have to do this again, sometime soon."

"God, always acting as if he doesn't see us at work every day." Santana mumbles into her glass of wine. You look at her beside you and shrug with your arms around you.

"I think it's sweet." You say and Santana snorts, turning.

"You would." She says before waving her hand at those leaving, "Later, losers." She calls before heading to the living room. You roll your eyes and send everyone a smile and a wave as they walk out the door before rubbing your arms and following after Santana.

You see Mike standing near the muted TV talking on his phone in a hushed voice and stand beside the couch Santana is currently sitting on; Finn laying on the other passed out. You shake your head at the man and sit on the arm of the couch.

Santana eyes you with an arched brow as your cross your legs, and you do a double take, smiling faintly at her, "What?"

"Nothing." She says with a shrug, looking at Kurt as he walks into the living room with a bottle of vodka. He holds it up with a sly grin and you groan. "This is the Hummel I'm so fond of." She grins, downing the rest of her wine before holding her glass out for Kurt to pour.

Kurt laughs and Mike looks over with a curious look, shaking his head in amusement when he sees Kurt pouring for Santana. You shake your head at him with wide eyes and he shrugs with a smile going back to his phone.

"Britt, you want some?"

"I'm…" you begin to decline when Santana scoffs.

"Don't be lame, Pierce, we don't work tomorrow." She says and you drop your shoulders, giving her a pointed look. Santana slowly smirks and holds her glass out to you. "You know you want to."

You let your gaze drop down and linger for a moment on her lips before lifting to her dark gorgeous eyes and sigh, looking at Kurt.

"One drink." You tell him and he cheers as Santana licks her lips, smirking while taking a drink. Kurt hurries to the kitchen to grab a few glasses and returns, pouring yours and handing it to you before swatting at Finn's head and making him get up. He hands Finn a drink and the tall man grimaces as he takes a drink.

"Hey, Brittany, I have to head out." Mike says regretfully. You swallow the liquid with a scrunched nose and lower the glass. "My father locked him and my mother out of their car and their stuck at the theater." He admits with a chuckle. "Are you okay to leave now?"

"Aw, Brittany, you have to stay." Kurt frowns, "Everyone else left and this is when the real fun starts. Plus you haven't finished your drink." He points out and you frown, looking down at the clear liquid and then back up at Mike.

"Um….the theaters the opposite way of my place so…It's okay, I'll just cab home."

"You can cab with Santana!" Kurt suddenly exclaims and Santana begins to choke on her drink.

You place a concerned hand on her back and yank it back when you feel her soft skin, "S-she can w-what?" Santana gasps for air, holding her hand to her chest before clearing her throat and setting a glare on Kurt.

"You're cabbing anyway, and you live like ten minutes from the hospital, Brittany is on the way. You can split the fare and neither of you have to leave alone, it's a win-win." He beams, wiggling his brows. Both you and Santana glare at him, neither noticing the other trying to kill him with your eyes, and he just looks at Mike and stands up. "Thanks for coming, Mike." He hugs him and looks at Finn with a huff, "Would you mind helping me get this idiot to the guest room upstairs?"

Mike looks at the passed out man and laughs, nodding while clapping Kurt on the back. You take another drink, grimacing at the burn, watching Kurt and Mike help Finn out of the living room and up the stairs.

"I can just get my own cab." You tell Santana unsurely.

She glances at you and arches a brow, running a hand through her long dark waves, "What, don't want to be alone with me?" she asks with a tilt of her head, "Scared I'll bite?" she smirks knowingly.

You blush and clear your throat, smoothly getting to your feet and walk over to the fireplace, looking at the pictures on the mantle. You hear Santana's quiet chuckle and glance over your shoulder, your eyes locking onto hers. She smirks around the rim of her glass and licks her lips, slowly blinking and turning her attention to Kurt when he comes back into the room.

* * *

><p>"God damn it, Hummel!" Santana slurs angrily as she and Kurt try to get your coat on while keeping you on your feet. You giggle and your head falls back, hitting Santana's forehead. She growls and you burst out laughing, stumbling forwards. Kurt catches you around the waist and then you feel Santana slip her arm around your waist from behind. "Let her cab with me, completely shit faced. Brilliant fucking idea!"<p>

"Shut up, my head's killing me." Kurt mumbles, opening his front door, "Chastise me on Monday." He says as Santana pulls your arm over her shoulder. You stumble and she almost collapses under your weight, cursing under her breath about 'fucking heels'.

"You so owe me." She grumbles as he closes the door on you both.

You drop your head against the side of Santana's and she huffs, helping you out to the cab waiting at the curb. You blink and your eyes follow the cabbie get out and round the vehicle to open the door for you.

"Thanss so much." You slur with a smile, tripping over your feet and catching yourself on the cab.

"I don't take drunks." The man mumbles with a heavy accent and you hear Santana harshly whisper something to him before she's helping you get in the back. You let your head fall back against the head rest of the seat and wince when the back door slams closed before you feel Santana lean over and put your seatbelt on. You open your eyes and blink lazily at her with a drunk smile.

She grumbles under her breath while struggling with the seat belt and blows her bangs out of her face, flipping her hair before pausing and looking up at you. "Trouble?" You whisper with an arched brow and she rolls her eyes, clicking the belt into place.

"I'm too drunk to take care of someone." She sighs heavily, clicking herself into the seat.

"Oh no! Two drunks?! No vomiting back there or you pay for the cleaning!"

"Move the damn car!" Santana snaps, leaning forwards. "Oh fuck." She pauses and looks back at you. You open your eyes wider and she pulls your scarf further from your mouth, "What's your address?"

You stare blankly at her and she blinks at you. "Fuck me." She groans, ripping out her cell phone and calling Kurt. "What's Brittany's address?" she barks and you burst into a fit of giggles making her do a double take at you while the driver looks at you in the mirror like you're crazy. You see him touch the hanging cross around his review mirror and snort another laugh, leaning to the side.

"Oh…" you draw out, unable to catch yourself before you land on Santana's lap.

She tenses and you just lay there, your eyes fluttering shut.

"Jesus Christ…" she mutters under her breath before telling the driver your address. The car jerks forwards and Santana's hand drops to your shoulder before getting you up right. "Don't lay down." She tells you firmly and you swallow. Her eyes widen as you part your lips, your mouth beginning to salivate, and she curses. "Stop the fucking car!" she shouts and all but kicks the door open when he pulls over.

* * *

><p>You keep your eyes closed as you lean your head on Santana's shoulder, holding onto her as she helps you up to the building front doors after telling the cab to wait for her to get you settled. You flutter your eyes open when she takes your purse, managing to locate your keys and open the door while keeping you from falling to the ground, and huffs as she pushes the door open with her back, and walks you inside.<p>

"Okay," she breathes out, "What number?"

"3B." you mumble before letting out a laugh, "Like the movies." You giggle, holding your arm over her shoulders and nuzzle against her shoulder.

"Lord, help me."

You turn your head into the crook of her neck and giggle again, humming tiredly as you wait for the elevator. Oh. The elevator.

"It's broken." You whisper and Santana tenses when your breath hits her neck. Her arm tightens around you and she clears her throat.

"What?"

"We need stairs." You mumble through a yawn and Santana groans loudly making you wince. You tighten your eye shut and take a calming breath to push back the urge to upchuck again when Santana sighs heavily and leads you to the stairs.

You don't know how long it takes for her to get you up the fourteen stairs but you might have some bruises on your shins and shoulders from bumping into the walls and kicking the stairs accidentally. You flutter your eyes open, and stare at the big '3B' on your door as Santana huffs while trying to get the key in the hole. You watch her, her bottom lip between her teeth as she narrows her eyes at the lock, and wet your lips. You were so close to her. And she melt amazing; like warm vanilla and cinnamon.

"Ah hah!" she grins widely when the lock clicks and looks at you, her smile faltering slowly as she furrows her brows, looking between your glossy eyes. "Uh, come on." She says and pushes the door open with her foot. You stumble inside with her and she closes the door with her foot before managing to get you over to the closest seat.

You gracelessly drop onto the couch and Santana catches herself, her hand on the back of the couch and knee on the cushion between your legs. You close your eyes as you lean your head back and Santana clears her throat getting up.

"Okay." She sighs and you open your eyes slowly, "You need some water." She says before looking around with wide panicked eyes when barking comes from your room. You smile and look towards your room seeing Chess come galloping into the living room, and look at Santana when she mumbles and backs up a few steps, flinching when Chess starts barking at her in a defensive stance. "Y-you have a dog."

You hum watching her jump at a particular bark, and she looks at you with a frightened gaze, "You're scared?" you ask with a frown and she scoffs, flinching again.

"A bit." She admits, "Call him off." She says and you fall forwards, catching yourself before you end up face first on the ground and get to your feet, wobbly. You go to the balcony and Chess follows, stepping outside when you open the door. Santana lets out a breath and you bend, pulling off your heels.

You look back at her and give her a smile drunkenly, and head over. She brushes her hair behind her ear, watching you as you get closer, and wets her lips.

"Let him in when he barks please." You manage and head to your room.

"But I…damn it." You hear and smile, not bothering to close your door as you unzip your dress and let it slide off your body leaving you in your thong and lace bra. You kick the dress aside and drop the heels on the floor before stumbling to your dresser to retrieve an old button up to sleep in. You pull your hair out of your ponytail and slide your arms into the sleeves while heading to the bathroom.

You look back towards Santana standing where you left her as you turn the light on and squint at the blinding light, quickly removing the makeup from your face. You shut the light off and step out of the bathroom when Chess barks. Santana hasn't moved to let him in and you pout.

She looks at you when you come back into the open living area and her lips part as she runs her eyes over your body. You run your hand through your hair and slide the door open or the puppy, shushing him when he begins to bark at Santana once more.

"Thanks for…ya know." You chuckle, more sober than you were ten minutes ago, still with a drunk smile. Santana swallows and lifts her eyes from your half naked body and lets out a shaky breath, nodding.

"Y-yeah, no problem." She nods, crossing her arms. You watch her for a moment, her eyes glancing to and from you repeatedly, and smile suggestively when her darkened eyes lift to meet yours.

You tilt your head as you slowly take a few steps around the couch towards her, and her arms slowly uncross, dropping to her sides. "Okay, I should…"

You hum and wrap your arms around her neck, kissing her wantonly.

Santana immediately reciprocates the kiss, hands flying to your exposed body, and running over your smooth skin while you push your tongue into her mouth. She moans and her hands move around and down to your ass, pulling your closer to her and squeezing. You undo the small tie around her neck and pull her dress down until it's around her waist before she gets rid of it completely.

You break the kiss and stare at her lust filled eyes, your gaze dropping to her breasts held up by a black push up bra, and lick your lips, grabbing her hand and dragging her into the bedroom, closing it before Chess can run in after you.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Soooo? What's you guys think lol? Hit me up!**

**-B**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hey, loves! Hope you all had an amazing Christmas yesterday, for those of you who celebrate, and those of you who celebrate another holiday, Happy Holidays to you and your family! A lot of you liked the last chapter, lol, which I thought you might. ;) Here's the next installment!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any songs/characters in this fic. Characters you don't recognize are my own. **

**-B**

* * *

><p>November, 2014:<p>

You quicken your strides when you get closer to the office, seeing the rest of the team already sitting around the table with a file open in front of Mike. Actually…you frown and search for Noah, noticing his absence and tilt your head at the Dean of Medicine, Dr. Schuester, standing at the front of the table, hands in his suit pockets as he speaks.

You take your wool headband from your head after pulling off your gloves and tuck both into your pockets as you open the door.

All eyes shift to you and you slow to a stop, smiling apologetically at your boss when he gives you a smile with a questioning brow lift.

"I haven't gotten my winter tires yet, I had to drive carefully." You mumble and Schuester chuckles, motioning for you to take a seat. You quickly exchange your coat for your lab coat and take the closest seat, which happened to be beside Santana. You glance at her, fixing your coat, and she glances at you before turning her attention back to Schuester. You keep your expression from shifting into one of disappointment and smile at Mike when he slides the file over.

Marcus Tyson, you read, twenty-three, started to convulse with shock-like pain at a graduation party.

"Well he had been drinking…" Mike says obviously and Santana snorts beside you as you scan your eyes over the remainder of the file.

"No shit, Chang."

"Alright, Lopez, please." Dr. Schuester says politely, giving her a warningly look. Santana lifts her hands in defense as Mike shakes his head. "I need to know if you three can handle this case without Noah." He sighs, running a hand through his gelled curls. You snap your head up and look at all three of them.

"Schue, we've done it before." Santana says with a bored expression. You watch him eye her carefully before he looks to Mike pointedly, nodding his head before leaving the office. A moment goes by where you just look back and forth between Santana and Mike before Mike gets up and moves to the whiteboard, writing down 'convulsions' and clicking the cap of the marker back into place.

"Okay, I was thinking sclerosis but we need an MRI to be sure." Mike breathes, crossing his arms over his chest as he looks at you and Santana, "Let's run the initial base tests and get medical history before we start coming up with any diagnoses." Mike says and you furrow your brows, looking at Santana.

"Wait…" you say slowly when she gets up. Both look at you, Santana with an arched brow, and you hold your hands out, "Where's Noah?"

Mike looks to Santana and she shifts, "We went to this new restaurant and the food didn't sit well with him." She smirks as Mike tries to hide his amusement. You frown and nod slowly.

"So it's just us." You state and they nod, "Why do you get to be in charge?" you ask suddenly, looking at Mike. He lifts his brows in surprise before straightening and shrugging.

"Whenever Puck isn't here, I always take over."

"And you're okay with that?" you ask Santana, looking at her next. She sighs heavily and gives a careless shrug. "Doesn't that bug you? I mean, you're his family…"

"Look, I know I can take over the department if I really wanted to, I'm a genius like that," she smirks as you and Mike roll your eyes, "But then any mistake we make would be my responsibility. I don't need Schuester and the board breathing down my neck. Also, if I was head, I'd have to be nicer to the patients, even when they're complete idiots."

You tilt your head and she continues, "This way," she says loudly, tucking her hands into her lab coat pockets, "I can carry on as usual, with more leeway than I have with Puck."

"Uh, actually…" Mike begins only to have Santana lift a hand, silencing him.

"Quiet, Chang, you know it's true." Mike's shoulders drop and you hold back a chuckle. Santana grins proudly, lifting her brows at Mike when he goes to protest once again, before looking at you and leaving the room.

"Go with her." He nods and you tense. He pauses from leaving the room and arches a questioning brow before calling your name and nodding after Santana.

"Right." You mumble and get up.

* * *

><p>"So, big party?" you ask Marcus as he lays in bed, staring up at the ceiling as Santana continues to draw blood into small vials. He was a decently attractive young man, well defined jaw, dark eyes, and a kind smile you received when you introduced yourself while walking in after Santana got things in order.<p>

Marcus chuckles faintly, glancing at Santana and then you before nodding and letting out a sigh.

Santana hands you the newest vial of blood without looking back at you and you put a stopper in it, placing it carefully in the vial rack, handing over the last empty vial. She grunts her thanks and goes to filling this one as you watch from over her shoulder.

"It was pretty fun up until my spaz attack." He grumbles and you frown sympathetically. "Do you guys have any idea yet?" he asks, looking back at you. You accept the last vial from Santana, putting it's stopper in and look at the young man, shaking your head. "Figured. How could you know? You haven't run any tests yet."

"How do you know we haven't?" you tease with a grin, Santana standing a few steps beside you. She looks up from filling out Marcus's paperwork and rolls her eyes at you as Marcus smiles.

"You're just now taking blood samples."

Your lips form an 'O' and your cheeks tint due to embarrassment, "Right…" you nod slowly, chuckling at yourself. Marcus joins in and you three shift your gazes to the door when his father comes in with a worried look.

"Mr. Tyson, Dr. Lopez. This is Dr. Pierce. We're working on your son's case." Santana states, holding her hand out to shake his. He accepts and gives her a quick smile before looking at you and nodding in recognition before going to his son's bedside. "We've just drawn some blood for testing and we should have more of an idea as to what caused your son to start convulsing." She tells him, gently touching his shoulder.

He pulls his gaze slowly from his boy and nods thankfully at her, "Thank you. Do you know anything at all as of now?" he asks, looking back at Marcus, squeezing the boys shoulder like any father would his son. Marcus gives him a tight smile in return and you glance from them to the vials and put the lid of the case on before cleaning up a few things on the cart.

"We don't have anything at the moment, but as soon as we do, you'll know." She nods before offering a smile and looking to you. You take in a sharp breath before following her out of the room with the cart, and slide the door closed softly behind you. You stop beside her, taking the file from her hands when her cell rings, and flip through the pages, checking what she had written in the room as she answers.

You look up when she sighs and place the file and the case on the reception desk on the floor, waving over Sam to deal with the cart. He grins widely and nods to whatever another nurse was saying before coming over when Santana starts speaking.

"Mike said to go on down to the lab and start testing, and he'll head into the patients room in ten minutes to get the family history before starting the MRI." She says, trailing off when Sam comes from behind her, beaming at you.

"Hey, Brittany!" he greets happily.

"Morning, Sam." You smile politely.

He nods, looking over you quickly before doing a double take at Santana and shifting with a twitch of his lips, "Hey, Santana."

"Lipsy." She says plainly with narrowed eyes. Sam chuckles and looks back at you, making Santana narrow her eyes further. You smile inwardly and straighten a bit.

"What can I do for ya?" Sam asks, holding his hands in the pockets of his scrubs. You tap the handle of the cart with a grin and he slaps his forehead, nodding quickly. "Right!" he laughs, brushing his hair from his face. "So how's your patient doing so far?" he asks, wetting his lips.

You glance at Santana, speaking to the receptionist while occasionally glancing towards you and Sam, and grin, "He's doing pretty well from what we can see. We're going to be running some tests for him."

"Nice, sounds pretty…"

"Boring." Santana cuts him off sharply, her hands in her lab coat pockets, with her eyes narrowed into a glare, "Pierce called you over to do your job and deal with the cart so we can go do _our_ more important jobs. I don't care if you're part of the _crew_, I will step on you if you annoy me, and right now…you're annoying me. So get a move on it, Trouty." She hisses and Sam clears his throat while straightening his back and muttering an excuse me to you. You step back, looking between Sam and Santana with a frown, and watch him leave before looking at Santana in disbelief and cross your arms.

"Why were you so mean to him?" you ask harshly and Santana rolls her eyes, grabbing the case and file before heading towards the elevators. You huff and hurry after her, facing her when the elevator doors close behind you. "Well?"

"I don't have time for you and Evans to make goo-goo eyes all day. We have a job to do. A patient to take care of." She says, staring at the elevator doors.

"Bullshit, Santana, you were just jealous that he likes me."

She barks out a laugh, glancing at you while shaking her head, "Please, like I'd ever be jealous of you."

"Not me." You say and her laughing subsides slowly. She stares at you before scoffing and shaking her head, waiting for the doors to open before stepping out and going for the lab. You walk behind her and pull the door open, holding it for her before following her in.

* * *

><p>You glance up and through the shelving unit in the middle of the lab testing table and at Santana using another microscope, and huff for the umpteenth time.<p>

"What?" she growls.

"You didn't answer my question." You tell her, watching her. She keeps her focus and doesn't flinch making you more frustrated. "Santana." You say in annoyance.

"You didn't ask me a question." She says after taking a calming breath, glancing up at you from the microscope. You give her a pointed look and she gives you one back, "It wasn't a question."

"Whatever!" you shrug, "My point is, I made an observation and brought it up and you didn't deny it. Which means you were jealous of Sam and like me. It's okay," you shrug with a sweet smile, "I'm very likeable."

Santana tilts her head, listening to you before smiling faintly and looking down before lifting her head and shaking it, "As interesting at your theory is…its complete shit. And I'll explain to you exactly why." She says, tilting her head at you as you look at each other through the space in the shelf. "First of all, I am not, nor have I ever been jealous of Trouty Mouth. I'm superior to him in every possible way and if I wanted you, I'd have you."

"But you don't have me." You tell her with a smirk and she blinks slowly.

"Which brings me to point number two; I don't want you. I could care less if you establish any type of relationship with Evans, just don't let him suck your face anywhere near me because I've seen it before and I had nightmares for weeks. If he tried hard enough he could suck a baby's head." She deadpans and you scrunch your nose at the unpleasant thought. "I'm assuming you mistook my annoyance for the moron as jealously, but let me fill you in on a little not so secret, secret." She leans forwards as her volume gets lower, "I just don't like the kid. He's an egocentric idiot, who thinks everyone loves him because he has a decent jawline when he doesn't look like a constipated baby, and has okay abs." she shrugs, leaning back.

You furrow your brows while biting your bottom lip and glance back up at her.

"Also, I'm pretty certain the only reason you brought Evans up in the first place was because you want to talk about what happened this weekend." She sighs, going back to the microscope as you blink.

You feel your cheeks start to burn and stutter for something to say before shaking your head and furrowing your brows, "Kinda."

"There's nothing to talk about." She says slowly, adjusting the magnifying intensity.

"Santana, we…" you begin loudly, the Latina glancing up at you with an arched brow while you quickly glance around, leaning to the side to make sure no one was coming towards the lab. When you see nobody you look back at her and lean forwards, "We slept together!" you hiss quietly and Santana nods slowly.

"We did."

You stare at her blankly and she shrugs.

"Thrice actually." She dips her head to the side and you blush faintly. "We obviously find each other attractive and there was some thick sexual tension between us, but now we can forget about it and get back to actually doing our jobs." She says simply, tugging the corner of her lips to the side.

"That's it?" you ask in disbelief, not wanting to admit how much that actually hurt.

Santana nods, looking back at the microscope, "That's it." She pauses and glances at you through her lashes, watching you, "Unless there's more to it on your part." She suggests carefully and you look at her and clear your throat before shaking your head.

"N-no, just wanted to make sure we were on the same page." You lie quietly, staring into her eyes. She holds your gaze momentarily before her lips curve upwards into an amused smile.

"Great."

"Yup." You say quickly after as he returns to work, dropping your shoulders in defeat, "Just great." You mumble quietly.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hah, haaaah, what'd you think? I'm kinda digging Santana's calm cool demeanor during the conversation if I do say so myself. :) I'm getting a little busy as of late, next term is starting and requires prep on my part so updates may not be every 3 or so days. I'm going to aim to update next on Wednesday and then the week after I'm going to aim more for every Thursday or Friday. **

**-B**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey guys! So let's get right to it, next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any songs or characters in this fic. Any characters you don't recognize are my own. Also medical portion of fic** **is from specific episodes of House, M.D. I aint got no degree.**

**-B**

* * *

><p>November, 2014:<p>

You lean forwards at the tall counter and rest your chin in your hand as you stare at one of the monitors.

It had been a few hours spent in this room with Santana alone, testing Marcus's blood. The only time you left the room was to use the restroom about half an hour ago. It was beyond boring. The kid looked completely healthy.

"Hey," Mike says as he comes into the lab, "How the testing going?"

You look at him with a short smile before turning back to the screen, "It's not." Santana huffs.

"There's nothing. No mutations, abnormalities…He's about as healthy as he can be." You inform him, turning on the stool to face your temporary boss.

Mike nods slowly while walking in further to stand beside Santana still positioned at the microscopes, and hits a button on the monitor keyboard beside her, showing the image from the scope on the screen. You slowly stand up and move over to stand beside Mike, behind Santana, and tilt your head as you look at the screen.

"White count seems a little low…" you say thoughtfully and Santana nods, hitting a button before getting up and going to the printer in the room. You and Mike continue to study the monitor when Santana comes over to you and hands you the paper. You look at it, and Mike leans closer to do the same. "White blood cell count is low." You state.

"Why didn't you just tell us that sooner?" Mike sighs at Santana. She arches a brow at him, sitting back on the stool in front of you, spinning to face you both while you two stare down at her.

"I don't respond well to people rushing me." She states with a grin at Mike, "You should know that."

Mike rolls his eyes and you hand him the paper for him to put in the original file, "Marcus's medical history, and family's medical history is clear. No genetic diseases or anything."

"This is his first attack?" you ask and Mike nods.

"Said as much."

"He could be lying." Santana states and you shake your head at her while Mike folds his arms, "What? We all know that everybody lies." She holds her hands out, shrugging and you give her an arched brow. She rolls her eyes, "Not always but everyone does it. What's stopping him from lying to us about anything? Even his father."

"Why would his father lie when it comes to his son's health?" You ask in annoyance and Santana narrows her eyes at you. "If someone I cared about was in the hospital I wouldn't lie. I'd want them to get better as soon as possible, and that means cooperating with the doctors."

"Damn, too bad there aren't more people like you, Pierce." Santana breathes with a smile. You glare at her and she cracks a smirk before Mike begins.

"I hate to admit it but Santana may have a point."

"What!" you exclaim in disbelief while Santana grins victoriously, crossing her legs. "Unbelievable."

"I know, but there are people who will keep things to themselves, not necessarily lie, but are ashamed of something and don't think what they're hiding is relevant." He explains to you while you shake your head slowly, looking past him. "Anyway, let's head up to the office." He says and you follow him out, Santana following.

* * *

><p>"You didn't tell us the MRI results." You realize as you sit at the table. Mike nods and stands by the whiteboard while Santana lifts herself to sit at the edge of the office table next to you. She grins knowingly at you and you huff, looking away from her and to Mike.<p>

"His MRI rules out sclerosis." He sighs, looking down at the original file while you open the single copy, Santana looking down at your file. "This case is a mystery to me."

"A mystery even the great Michael Chang cannot figure out? My, this must be quite the complex case."

You look to the door and smile at Sebastian as he grins at the three of you while walking over to the table.

"What are you doing here?" Santana chuckles as Sebastian motions for Mike's file. He hands it over, running a hand through his hair and Sebastian starts scanning through the papers.

"I just finished a surgery on a jerk of a teenager. He had the worse mouth on him I've ever heard. Worse than you, Lopez." He says, squinting while reading.

You snort and Santana casts you a short glare.

"His mother died in a car accident?" Sebastian asks, glancing around at the three of you. After you all nod he hums, "Have you considered anything genetic?"

"I doubt this is a genetic component." Mike says as you tilt your head, listening to them both. "His father has a clean bill of…"

"No, Seb's talking about the mother…" Santana says slowly, leaning closer to you to look in the file. You tense and look at her as she flips through the pages, coming to family history. You swallow, holding back from inhaling her vanilla scent, and wet your lips. "You're thinking what?" she asks Sebastian, glancing at you while she waits for his reply.

"Type 2 neurofibromatosis." He says and you and Santana both look at him in surprise.

"I don't think…" Mike shakes his head when you put your hand out to stop him.

"Wait, think about it." You say, gaining everyone's attention, "The police report said she veered off a straight, dry road in broad daylight." You recall, shrugging, "Maybe Sebastian's right."

"No," Mike shakes his head firmly, holding his hands out, "She was probably just changing the radio station."

"That's what the police thought." Sebastian says, coming from the small desk area in the room with two papers in his hand, handing one to Mike and one to Santana who holds it for you to see also, "They didn't seem to know she had a family member with a history of frequent incapacitating shock like sensations."

"And NF2 explains his symptoms." You say in amazement as you look at Sebastian, "I thought you were a radiologist."

"I am." He grins and you shake your head at him with a smile.

"It's only a theory." Mike says and Santana scoffs.

"Chang, it's all we have."

"Fine." He clenches his jaw, "Get a DNA analysis on the long arm of chromosome 22."

You and Santana nod and get up, leaving the room to do as instructed, missing the way Mike narrows his eyes at Sebastian while the radiologist follows you out.

"Have fun, ladies." He says with a smile, heading to his own destination.

* * *

><p>You smile as you and Santana walk into the room with Santana carrying a kit and Mr. Tyson quickly gets up from his chair at his sons side as Marcus slowly blinks his eyes open.<p>

"How are you doing?" you ask gently as you stand by his bedside.

"As well as I can be." He chuckles lightly. You nod in understanding as Santana gets the kit ready and look at Mr. Tyson.

"Do you have something?" he asks, and you nod.

"We believe you have NF2. Type 2 neurofibromatosis. It's an inherited disease." You say. "It can cause abnormal growths on your cranial nerves which explains your shocks as well as other symptoms." You say as Santana hands you a swab. You demonstrate opening your mouth and Marcus obeys, letting you gently swab the inside of his cheek.

"We're doing a DNA Analysis which will show if your son has the specific chromosome mutation which causes the symptoms." Santana adds while you carefully insert the swab into a tube and place a cap on, handing it back to Santana. "We should have results soon enough." She says with a small smile before you and she begin to pack up.

"W-wait," Mr. Tyson holds a hand up, before crossing his arms, looking between you and Santana as you both lift your heads and look at him in question. "Y-you said this was an inherited disease." He says and you nod. He lifts his shoulders and looks at his son before back at you, "No one in my family has had this. They've all been healthy and…"

"We suspect your wife had it." Santana says, and Mr. Tysons shakes his head firmly.

"No." he says, "She never had any health problems."

"You're sure?" you ask carefully glancing at Marcus as he watches the scene unfold. "She could've had odd looking freckles, uhm…dots in her irises." You offer, holding a hand out. Mr. Tyson shakes his head no once again and you wet your lips, looking at Santana.

"No, she was healthy." He states, "Why would you think she was sick in the first place?"

Santana clears her throat and lifts her brows at you and you clench and unclench your jaw, "We believe that this disease is what caused her accident."

"What do you mean?" You and Santana look at Marcus as she looks between the both of you with furrowed brows, "My mom's car was hit by a drunk driver." He says and you part your lips, looking at Santana.

"That's not what the police report said." You say gently and Marcus shakes his head, clenching his jaw.

"Well then you have the wrong report." He says loudly.

"Marcus, calm down, we're just trying to get to the bottom of this." Santana says, holding her hand out over his shin. Marcus blinks away and shakes his head.

"You're claiming my mother was sick when I know what happened!" He shouts.

"Marcus, that's enough." Mr. Tyson says quietly as you straighten. Santana looks from you to Marcus's father and puts her hands in her coat pocket. "The report accurate." He admits and you lift your brows, looking at Santana as she arches a brow and tilts her head to the side a bit.

She was right. He had lied. You shake your head and listen as Mr. Tyson continues, "When you started driving…I thought that telling you your mother…"

"You used mom to make sure I'd be careful on the road." Marcus says in disbelief.

"I know it was wrong but…"

"What else did you lie about, dad?" Marcus asks loudly, and his father looks down, "Was she really a teacher or did you just want me to read?" he scoffs and you furrow your brows, sniffing.

"Son, please…"

"What's that smell?" you ask, cutting off the father. Everyone looks at you and Santana furrows her brows, sniffing.

"I don't smell anything." She says and you look at Marcus. You look over him and Santana lean forwards, "Dr. Pierce?"

You glance at Marcus's face, his eyes watching you closely, and glance at Santana. She lifts her head slowly and the both of you remove his blanket from over him, straightening when you see fecal matter on the mattress and his gown. You look at Santana and she looks at you before looking at Marcus who was staring in shock. "We're going to need a nurse."

"What the hell…"

"Don't worry about it." Santana says and Marcus starts shaking his head. Santana places her clipboard down and begins to leave the room when Mr. Tyson speaks up, touching the edge of the bed.

"You didn't feel anything?" he questions in confusion and Marcus shakes his head. You stop from following after Santana as she stops at the door, and tilt your head as Santana walks back over, taking a pen from her coat pocket and clicking it open.

You watch her poke the tip of his big toe, "Did you feel that?" she asks, looking at the boy. He nods. "But you didn't feel…" she motions to him and he shakes his head again.

"No." he says nervously and Santana lets out a heavy breath, looking back at you.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Let me know what you guys thought. There is a lot more Brittana to come, especially with this case. The two make quite the team **

**-B**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Well hellooo, readers! It's only been two days since my previous update, and yes, usually three to four days is how long I wait but I'm bored and ahead of schedule on the chapters so as a little treat to all of you...an update!**

**-B**

* * *

><p>November, 2014:<p>

You're sitting in the main office discussing ideas with Santana when the office door opens and Dr. Schuester walks in with Mike and Sebastian following him. You and Santana exchange looks before you smile at Sebastian, watching him take a seat beside Santana at the table.

"Don't you have patients?" she asks jokingly getting a chuckle from the handsome man.

"I've asked Dr. Smythe to assist the three of you on this case." Schuester says and you lift your brows, glancing at Mike, standing with his arms crossed near the door; not looking too happy about the change. "It seems he offered up a logical suggestion and I think he could be an asset to this case." He says and you nod.

"His theory was logical but it's not NF2." Santana says and Sebastian tilts his head while Mike straightens and grins faintly. You grin in amusement at this before addressing the Dean.

"We were obtaining DNA samples when the patient…" you slow, shifting in your spot and look to Santana.

She chuckles and leans back in her chair, "He shit himself." She says and all the men's brows lift in surprise. "We added bowel incontinence on the board." She points to the whiteboard with her pen and Dr. Schuester walks over, reading what you have down.

"Also, we have Nurse Hummel and Nurse Jones running other genetic tests, we should have results early tomorrow morning." You tell them all with Santana nodding.

Dr. Schuester pulls his gaze from the board before smiling at you and Santana and nodding, "Good work. I'll check in later on tomorrow then." He says before excusing himself from the room.

You look between Sebastian and Mike, Sebastian quietly discussing with Santana, and Mike eyeing Sebastian closely, and get up, walking to the door, "Mike." You say, motioning for him to follow you. He nods and does so, walking by your side as you move towards the elevator.

* * *

><p>"So, what's the deal with you and Sebastian?" you ask as the two of you slide into opposite sides of a booth in the cafeteria.<p>

He lets out a heavy sigh and shakes his head, lifting his coffee to his lips.

"There is no deal." He says and you arch a disbelieving brow. He cracks a faint grin and you chuckle, nudging his leg with yours.

"C'mon, I'm all ears."

"I don't know. We're friends, we're in the crew but when it comes to working together…we never see eye to eye. It's basically a constant competition between us. Has been ever since med school."

"You two went to Harvard together?" you ask, intrigued. He nods.

"Same graduating class."

"I've always kinda wanted a rival like that." You shrug, taking a drink of your coffee. Mike tilts his head with a look and you smile shyly, shrugging once again, "What, I have."

"Right. Well I can see you and Santana being rivals." He laughs quietly and you narrow your eyes with a smile.

"Why do you say that?"

"Sure you two get along decently enough outside of work, and even in the hospital but there is something between you two."

You tense with wide eyes, and quickly look down at your coffee, tapping the side of the cup as he continues, "There's this tension that everyone can feel. It's like you two push each other which is good. Makes you better doctors, especially because you respect each other and can admit when you're wrong. Like you're not too prideful to argue when you know the other is right." He says as you stare at him incredulously.

"…Yeah, that's it." You say slowly.

"You're lucky in that way." He nods.

You regard him carefully as he smiles to himself, drinking his coffee and nod, "Alright, well, I'm going to fit in a few clinic cases before the days over." You tell him and Mike watches you leave, waving when you look back from the exit.

* * *

><p>"<em>I promise."<em>

_"Never let go…_" _Jack says, shivering terribly while staring up at Rose_.

"_I'll never let go, Jack. I'll never let go._"

You roll your eyes as Rose and Jack stare deeply into each other's eyes on the screen and turn your head to look at Chess sprawled out beside you on the couch. He lifts his head, feeling your gaze on him and you sigh.

"Are you buying this?" you ask him and he just blinks and rests his head back against the cushion. "Me neither." You mumble, lifting your mug to your lips as you hold the remote out in front of you and change the channel.

It was just coming up to 7 o'clock when you settle on an episode of House Hunters. You left the hospital half past five, getting home only to go right back out to walk Chess. Another fifteen minutes outside before you were home to stay. You ripped off your work attire and threw on flannel pajamas pants and a black Duke hoodie before making some popcorn and a tea to relax and enjoy some good old television. Somehow you landed on Titanic. You're not in love with the movie, but it was a classic and decent enough. Just…maybe not the right time to watch it.

_We obviously find each other attractive and there was some thick sexual tension between us, but now we can forget about it and get back to actually doing our jobs_.

You pout sadly and sink further into your couch, pulling your knees to your chest while lifting your mug. It bugged you how Santana could easily just dismiss what happened between the two of you. You had thought that she sort of _had_ to like you if she wanted to sleep with you. You can understand the first time being blamed on your lack of sobriety but come on! Three times! Three amazing, jaw dropping, back arching, earth shattering times. _If_ you were being completely honest.

"God." You blush just thinking about how sexy Santana looked as she crawled back up your body, your hand tangled in her hair as she held her bottom lip between her teeth with a pleased smirk.

You groan in frustration and jump when Chess launches himself off the couch, barking like a maniac. You hold your mug out, looking over yourself to see if you spilt, and snap your head up when you hear another knock at your door.

"What the hell?" you frown and get up, shushing Chess as you make your way to the door. "Chess, that's enough!" you tell him firmly and he quiets, ducking his head. You huff dramatically and pick him up before peeking through the peek hole and furrowing your brows.

"Sorry we're late!"

* * *

><p>"Uh…late for what exactly?" you ask as Kurt and Quinn push their way into your apartment. Your eyes widen and you close the door behind them, placing Chess down, "Oh my god, did we have plans to see a movie or something? I totally forgot, I'm so sorry! Let me just get dressed and we…"<p>

"Brittany, relax!" Kurt says with an amused smile as Quinn shakes her head at you fondly while setting up a decent sized white board in front of your TV. "You didn't forget anything; we just…invited ourselves over." He shrugs as you slowly make your way into the living room, eyeing Quinn carefully as she writes 'Operation Brain' at the top of the board.

"Operation…Kurt!" you exclaim in horror, smacking him upside the head.

"_Ow_!" he scowls with a pointed look. You cross your arms tightly over your chest and nod towards the board and Quinn watching the two of you with a chuckle.

"You told Quinn?!" You hiss and he huffs while the other blonde smiles and tilts her head.

"I already knew, remember? We talked about it at the dinner?" she asks and you slowly relax, lifting your head as your lips part.

"Oh right…" you say slowly, glancing at Kurt. You smile innocently and he narrows his eyes, "Sorry." You flash him a sweet smile and he rolls his eyes, fighting back a grin as he heads to your kitchen.

"Don't worry about it. I'll pour us something to drink!"

You go to protest before stopping yourself and just sit on the couch, Chess finding his way to your lap.

"So…" you draw out.

Quinn takes a seat in the grey chair from your mother and crosses her legs, only then do you realize she's in her work clothing and Kurt was in his scrubs. "Did you two just leave the hospital?" you ask and Quinn shakes her head.

"No, we left an hour ago. Then we had to drop Rach at home before going out and buying that damn board. I mean, I don't really think it's necessary." She shrugs and you nod in agreement.

"Yeah, I was going to say."

"It's necessary." Kurt states, coming back holding three empty wine glasses and a bottle of red in his hands. You accept a glass from him before he hands Quinn her own, standing in front of the board while pouring his own glass. Quinn takes the bottle and you pull your eyes from her as Kurt takes a healthy sip of his, "So!" he beams, "Progress report."

"Kurt." You groan his name and hold your glass out for Quinn to pour, smiling quickly in thanks before looking back at the man. "Enough with the progress reports. There hasn't been anything to report!"

"Lies." Quinn says and you frown, "You do know Santana is my best friend right? After Rachel of course."

You wet your lips and look down.

"Fine. Brittany, you won't talk? I'll go to Quinn." Kurt says, opening a pack of markers. "What do you got?"

You tense and look between the two nervously as Quinn leans back in the chair, "You had them cab home together, right?" Kurt nods and your eyes widen as she smiles, "Well, Santana told me this morning, after I nagged her about the rest of her weekend, that Britt tried to plant one on her."

You let out a breath and Kurt squeals as you focus on looking way more invested in your wine than you really are.

"Brittany, you vixen." Kurt whispers with a beaming grin. You glance up at him and humor him with a forced smirk and a shrug. "So what happened after that, did she tell you?"

"That's all I got." Quinn says before they both look at you.

"What?"

"Anything you want to add?" Quinn asks with a playful glint in her eye.

"Uh, no? Just what Santana said. I tried to kiss her." You state, "I-I mean, I…not really. It wasn't even really that I tried to kiss her. More like, I mean, Chess was barking and I tripped and she caught me. Our faces were just really close together." You rant, Chess lifting his head from your knees at the mention of his name, and you look down, petting him as you continue to make shit up, "I just looked at her lips really. I didn't lean in or anything. I wouldn't do that. Yeah, no, nothing happened." You finish with a tight smile, looking at them.

Quinn and Kurt just stare back at you before Quinn slowly blinks and looks at Kurt.

"This is going to be harder we originally thought."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Shorter, I know, but you can expect the next update Sunday or early morning. **

**-B**


	13. Chapter 13 & Chapter 14 (That's Right!)

**A/N: Holy crap okay, so, wow, this case is fricken long as hell I just realized. But the team is getting close! More Brittana interaction in this chapter. I actually really like their conversation(s) in this one, hopefully you do too.**

**A heads up, now that I'm back to uni I, mostly likely, because I'm you know...me, will forget to update. I do that a lot. So just letting you know that!**

**Disclaimer: Same as last chapter (Too lazy to do that.)**

**Actually just because, I'm squishing chapter 13 and 14 together so you have more to read and to speed up this case. Am I great or am I great ;) rofl**

**-B**

* * *

><p>November, 2014:<p>

"Brittany, hey!" Sam grins boyishly at you as you walk into the building, jogging up to you from where he was standing near the clinic doors.

You give him a tight lipped smile and a light wave, heading to the elevators with purpose.

"Damn," he laughs, falling in line with you, "You got some long legs on you."

"Yeah, I guess so." You say, hitting the up button, tapping your fingers against the leather gloves you hold in front of you. You do a double take at Sam, squinting faintly as you subtly watch him stare at your ass while trying to make it look like he was reading a patients file, and sigh heavily before the doors open.

You step to the side when he jumps in with you and arch a brow, "Weren't you just working in the clinic?" you ask slowly and he lifts his brows in surprise.

"Oh!" his lips fall apart and you can't help but stare because, Jesus, those are some huge ass lips. You never really looked at them before but yeah, something was definitely off with his mouth to face ratio. "Yeah, I just thought I'd walk you to the office." He tries his, what you assume, charming smile on you and just smile politely and nod, looking at the doors ahead of you. You see him deflate with your peripherals and narrow your eyes when the doors open revealing Santana walking across the elevator looking at a file.

You step out and call her name, making her slow and glance back over her shoulder at you. Sam goes to follow you and you stop, putting your hand gently against his chest before giving a small push back into the elevator, "I'm good." You say, reaching inside and push the floor button before quickly stepping back and marching up to the waiting Latina.

"Who pissed in your tea this morning?" she asks with a smirk as soon as you get closer to her.

You give her a sarcastic laugh, before quickly glaring at her, dragging her around the corner. She clears her throat, arching a brow at you while removing your hand from her sleeve, holding the file down in front of her, "Can I help you with something?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact." You nod, "Why would you tell Quinn I tried to kiss you?"

She simply arches a brow and you cross your arms, arching your own brow challengingly.

"Because you did try." She shrugs. "Then you did and then things proceeded and…"

You shake your head, scrunching your face and hold your hand up to stop her, "Okay, yeah, enough." She stops, shrugging, and you glance to the side before looking back at her, "Why did you open your mouth and say anything?"

"Because she was nagging me about…" she begins, waving it off after a second, "Why does it matter? And actually, how do you even know I told her?" she asks with a suspicious gaze.

You open your mouth to reply before stopping and thinking. You can't really tell her about Quinn and Kurt visiting you last night and how they marked up the entire white board with ideas and strategies on how to win the brunettes heart because…well hello, one, that's plain creepy.

You wrack your brain for an answer and close your eyes, shaking your head before opening them.

"I, uh, heard her tell Rachel before I left yesterday." You come up with and Santana shakes her head as she clenches her jaw, looking to the floor.

"That woman just can't keep her mouth shut." She grumbles, "Is that all she said?" she suddenly asks and you shift, glancing at the group of interns coming down the hall. You smile casually at Dr. Schuester as he leads the interns down the hall towards you and Santana follows your gaze, rolling her eyes, "Fabulous."

"Dr. Pierce, Dr. Lopez," he greets with a wide grin, stopping beside you both. The interns stop behind him and you run your eyes over each of them quickly before returning your gaze to your boss, "How's your patient coming along? Oh, what were the results for the tests?" he asks, crossing his arms as he looks between the two of you.

"I just got in." you say and he frowns, glancing at his watch, "Still gotta get those snow tires." You chuckle awkwardly and glance at Santana, shaking her head as she looks up.

"Yes, I'd get on that." Schuester says, "So, Dr. Lopez?"

"According to Jones, the results won't be ready for another hour or so. I'll have Dr. Chang page you as soon as we get them." She says confidently and you roll your own eyes, crossing your arms as the Dean nods, accepting her answer.

"I'd appreciate that." He nods and motions for the interns to follow him once again, "Oh, Dr. Pierce, perhaps Nurse Hummel can help you with your tire situation. I believe his father owns a garage close by."

"I will be sure to do that before I leave." He grins before leading the group off.

"God I hate interns." Santana scoffs and you furrow your brows.

"Why exactly?"

"Fresh out of med school and all of them think they know more than they do. They're lucky I'm not allowed to train anymore." She says and you lift your brows with a curious smile, leaning closer.

"What'd you do?"

Santana waves it off and you hit her shoulder lightly with your gloves.

"Tell me." You smile and she huffs.

"It's nothing extravagant. I just didn't hold back on the criticism."

"So you made them cry." You state knowingly and Santana snorts.

"Please, if me speaking the truth and knocking them down a peg makes them cry, they're not on the right career path. People will make you feel like you're not good enough every day; your boss, peers, patients…You need to know how to take their criticism and use it to your advantage. Otherwise you're never going to prove them wrong and show your true potential." She says, looking over her shoulder before turning back to you and pulling her head back, "What?"

You tilt your head while smiling softly at her and she eyes you carefully, "Seriously, Pierce, you're freaking me out."

"It's nothing just…I don't know." You shrug, "You're kind of inspirational."

Santana wets her lips as she straightens and glances around, not meeting your gaze. When she does glance back at you, your smile grows and she clears her throat and drops her gaze to the floor.

You swear you see a hint of pink dust over her cheeks before she lifts her head and nods.

"Yeah, well, I just speak the truth." She says.

* * *

><p>"Genetic tests are normal!"<p>

You, Mike and Santana look up from the spread out leafs of papers on the table and up to the door where Kurt and Sebastian just walk into the room.

Santana sinks further into her chair across from you as Mike gets up from beside you, walking over to meet the two men at the front of the table.

"You're sure?" he asks, looking through the results. "Damn." He shakes his head, shoulders dropped and you give him an apologetic smile. He sighs and rubs his forehead, motioning for someone to come out with an idea.

"The boy lost control of his bowels; we know something is compromising the central portion of his spinal cord." Santana says, stretching her arms over her head before dropping her hands on to her head, running her hand around her ponytail.

"You know, I still can't believe he lied to his son." Kurt says and you look at him as Santana holds her hand up.

"How do you even know that?" Sebastian shifts and she rolls her eyes, "Totally forgot you two were shacking up."

"Yeah, anyway," Sebastian draws out, before smiling at Kurt, "Lunch?"

Kurt lifts his chin and glances at you before Santana and looking back to Sebastian, "I'll get back to you on that."

You groan quietly and run your hand through your hair, Santana arching a brow at you.

"Ideas? Anyone?" Mike exclaims, holding his hands out while pacing the room. You all look at him as he holds his hand against the back of his neck, brows furrowed in thought.

"We don't have much to go on, Chang." Santana states and Mike stops, sending her an annoyed look. "Hey, you asked for ideas but we can't give you any when we don't have anything to guide us." She says, holding her hand out.

"Lopez is right." Sebastian nods and Mike takes a shaky breath, throwing the two short glares before looking at you hopefully.

You shrink in your seat and glance at Santana and Sebastian before mumbling an apology to Mike.

"Damn it." He shakes his head, stopping at the front of the table. Everyone is quiet, thinking of anything when Mike suddenly bursts out, "Bullshit!" and throws the original file on the table.

You watch it slide to the other end before continuing to the floor, papers sliding out, and look up slowly when Mike leaves the room.

"That man needs to learn to calm the fuck down." Santana shakes her head as Sebastian gets up and gathers the file papers. He nods in agreement as you look at the board.

"He's just dealing with a lot." You make up an excuse for him and both Sebastian and Santana give you pointed looks. "Well okay, I don't actually know that but running a diagnostic team when you're not the actual head of the team."

"Oh give me a break, Pierce."

"You guys don't show him any respect." You say and Sebastian arches a brow while Santana shakes her head. "He's trying and you two just put more and more stress on him without actually trying to get to the bottom of this." You tell them, getting up. You grab the marker and uncap it, looking hard at the board. "Now can you actually put some effort in and do this one thing for him so it doesn't make him feel like crap?" you ask, looking at Sebastian more than Santana. "Maybe try working with him instead of trying to prove you're a better doctor?"

You look at Mike when he walks back in, holding his hands on his hips as he lifts his head, offering a faint smile.

"Transverse myelitis." He suggests and you tilt your head, looking between him and Sebastian as the Asian looks to his rival, "Numbness, anal sphincter dysfunction…"

"And the shocks." Sebastian says with a faint grin, displaying his agreement. "Caused by infection?" he asks and Mike narrows his eyes suspiciously before glancing at you.

You smile at him and he shrugs, looking back at Sebastian.

"If there was an infection, there would've been a fever." Santana states with an arched brow, "Also his blood and CSF cultures are already negative."

"The infection could be gone, but maybe the memory of it remains." You speak up, sending the Latina a smug smirk.

Santana taps her pen on the table and slowly smirks, "Molecular mimicry. Interesting."

"We'll need an immunoglobulin level and electrophoresis." Sebastian says, nodding before looking to Mike, "Who do you want to do it?" he asks and Mike straightens in surprise, glancing at you. You nod for him to go ahead and he shifts.

"You think you and Lopez can handle it?" he asks and Sebastian nods, standing up with the Latina.

"No problem." He says while walking to the door. His pager goes off as soon as his hand touches the door and he pulls it from his belt, looking at it. "Problem." He says, looking back at Mike with an apologetic, tight lipped smile.

Mike nods and Sebastian leaves the room before you're being ushered out of the room after Santana. Mike puts his hand on your shoulder before you follow after her down the hall, and you look back at him with lifted brows, "Thanks."

"For what?" you ask, holding back a smile.

He chuckles and squeezes your shoulder before letting you go. You just smile with an eye roll and head after Santana.

* * *

><p>[Chapter 14:]<p>

"If I can just get you to face Dr. Pierce, that'd be great." Santana says as she stands to Marcus's right.

You stand to his left and give him a reassuring smile while gently helping him lie on his left side so he's facing you, while Santana gets ready for the lumbar puncture.

"So, what is going on exactly?" Mr. Tyson asks, looking from Marcus to you with a nervous expression. You give him a tight lipped smile and pat Marcus's shoulder lightly when Santana retrieves the long needle.

"An infectious agent's molecular structure can resemble that of the spinal cord's." You explain, motioning your hand to Santana as she pushes the needle between central regions of Marcus's spinal cord. You watch her hold a clear tube at the end of the needle, clear fluid dripping into the tube from Marcus's spine.

"When the immune system attacks the infection, sometimes it will end up attacking the spinal cord as well." Santana states, lifting her head while screwing the lid on the tube. She puts it on the tray before carefully removing the needle, and gives Mr. Tyson a smile before looking at Marcus and patting his arm, "You can lay on your back."

"I'm a little confused…" Mr. Tyson says, rubbing his forehead, "So he does have an infection?"

"No." Santana says, crossing her arms over her chest as she explains, "Even after the infection is gone, it keeps attacking because the spinal cord is still there. Before you ask," she begins, holding her hand out with a faint grin, "There are treatments, depending on what the original infection was.

You look away from Santana and Mr. Tyson to see Marcus wince when he tries to lay on his back, and frown, touching his arm, "Is something bothering you?" you ask getting Santana's attention.

Marcus forces a smile and shakes his head, "Yeah, I'm just…I'm feeling a little nauseous." He says slowly, glancing to his father, "Can you grab me a ginger ale or something?"

"Of course." He says and is quickly out of the room. You reach to pick up the little bowl for him to throw up in but he waves it off, laying back and shifting to get comfortable.

"I'm fine, I just needed some time without him here."

Santana shifts, refolding her arms and tilts her head with furrowed brows, "Why's that?" You look from her to Marcus as he wets his lip uncertainly.

"You said depending on the original infection there might be a treatment." You and Santana nod in sync and he takes a heavy breath. "During reading week a buddy of mine invited a group of us to Jamaica…"

Your lips part slowly as you exchange a glance with Santana, before you nod for him to continue, "He flew us down and my dad has this stupid thing about accepting things from more _well-off_ friends." He mumbles with an eye roll. "Some crap about remembering where I came from. I just…you know, thought knowing that might help you guys figure out what's going on." He says with a nod.

* * *

><p>"I told you." Santana says, holding the office door open for you before following you in. You smile faintly at the tiny gesture and look up at Mike flipping through Marcus's file on the table. "All these idiots know is lying."<p>

Mike lifts his head with furrowed brows while you lean against the table, rolling your eyes at Santana, "What exactly did I miss?"

"Marcus and a few friends of his went to Jamaica for reading week. His dad doesn't know. One of his friends flew them out."

"Mhm, and there's only one reason a group of college kids would go to Jamaica." Santana says knowingly.

"He doesn't do weed, Santana." You tell her firmly, "He only drinks."

"That's what he said in front of good old daddy." She smirks.

"Wasn't his tox screen negative for THC?" Mike asks in confusion and you nod, giving the Latina smug smile. She rolls her eyes and sits down at the table, nudging your thigh with her elbow, hard.

"_Ow_." you say pointedly, moving from the table to take a seat near Mike. The Asian man chuckles at the interaction as you scowl at Santana; and bump Mike's shoulder with yours to stop him from laughing.

"Okay, lets say he is lying about the marijuana…"

"Mike!" you exclaim in disbelief. Santana leans back in her chair, crossing her legs with a pleased smirk when Mike puts his hands up. "No, there is no way the marijuana can cause transverse myelitis." You say firmly, shaking your head.

"Who said it did?" Santana asks and you tilt your head in confusion.

"You just…"

"Not the weed, Brittany, what you put on it." Mike says, leaning forwards. You look between his eyes and slowly lift your head when it hits you.

"Pesticides."

"And he didn't need to smoke the pot to get pesticide poisoning. He could've eaten some fruit that was sprayed, or been exposed through his skin during a hike." Santana nods, and god, you hate it when she's right. "Or he could've smoke it."

"Santana." You and Mike say and she chuckles, holding her hands up in defense.

"It's still a possibility. He could've smoked it, a shit ton, and then just lie about it. Which, seeing as him and his father haven't been honest with us about anything from the start, doesn't seem like such a stretch."

You groan and she leans forwards, looking at Mike, "I say we start him on IV Pralidoxime. Two grams per liter, then one gram every few hours until we see improvement."

"You have no evidence to support your poisoning _theory_ besides the _two_ times they've lied." You point out, pointing at her when you look to Mike, "Please tell me you agree with me and you aren't falling for this bullshit."

"She's right Santana, you don't have anything to back it up."

"Which will make it even more amazing when I turn out to be right." She smirks, "Unless of course, you two have anything better?" You and Mike open your mouths to throw something out before pausing, sharing a glance before letting out sighs, "No? Great."

* * *

><p>"Dr. Pierce!"<p>

You still at the Dean's voice and groan inwardly before turning around and smiling at the man as he walks from the hospital entry to where you are standing by the elevators, ready to head up to the office.

"Dr. Schuester." You nod in greeting, subtly pushing the up button with gusto. You pull your hand back when he stops beside you and lift your brows when he motions for you to enter the elevator with him when the doors open.

"You're on time today." He laughs, nodding with a pleased smile and you force a smile of your own.

"I am. Still lacking the snow tires, just left a little earlier to be sure I was here."

"Excellent. So, how's your patient doing?"

"He's…" you begins before stopping, "I was just on my way up to see him, I'll let you know." You tell him with a smile, stepping out. You side eye him when he follows you out, accompanying you to the office, and you give him a curious look.

"You're treating him for pesticide poisoning with no proof of pesticides." He says and you nod, opening the door and swap your outside coat and accessories for your lab coat.

"Technically it was Dr. Lopez's idea."

"As long as he doesn't get worse." He says firmly and you nod, looking to Noah's office door when the man walks out dressed a pressed suit. "Welcome back, Puckerman. I assume you're caught up on the case?"

Noah nods with a smile and stops by your side, tapping the file in his hand to his chest while his other hand moves to his pocket, "I am. You have nothing to worry about, Schue. I'll handle the kids." He says with a joking wink and Schuester nods before leaving the room. You and Noah lean to the side to make sure the Dean is gone before Noah smacks your arm with the file.

"What was _that_ for?" you frown.

"You let Lopez treat the boy for pesticides without proof of pesticides!" he points out and you drop your jaw.

"No way. I was against it. Mike took over your position and gave her the go ahead."

"Ugh, Chang." He growls, motioning for you to follow him. "This is going to be just great for our lawyer. The board will eat us alive." He says as you hurriedly walk beside him, heading to Marcus's room. "Her aunt will have her head if she…"

"Ha ha!" Mr. Tyson beams, patting his son on the shoulder as Marcus shovels down some breakfast. "I don't know what you did but my boys got his appetite back." He smiles proudly as you and Noah stand in the doorway, baffled, and exchanging looks of disbelief.

* * *

><p>"What you did was unprofessional and completely idiotic, Lopez." Noah argues firmly, dropping the file on the table before running his hand over his head; Santana clenching her jaw with her arms crossed.<p>

You shift awkwardly in your seat, glancing at Mike as he glances to you, shaking his head like he's used to these two arguing like this. You look back at the cousins as Santana glares at Noah.

"Oh give me a break, Puckerman. No one else was coming up with ideas!" she throws her hand out towards you and Mike and you tip your head, agreeing with her on that. "Besides, the kid's healthy again! There shouldn't be a problem."

"He is not healthy. Nausea and diarrhea were not his only symptoms."

"Yeah, well the shocks have also decreased." Santana points out and Mike speaks up.

"They haven't disappeared." Mike says and receives the dirtiest glare you've ever seen from Santana. "I'm just pointing it out."

"Well thanks for that, egg roll!"

You stifle a laugh at Mike's shocked look and bite your lip to keep from smiling, shaking your head at the brunette when she glances at you.

"He still has low white count." Noah says, jaw clenching as he puts his hands on his hips.

"They do need time to grow." You offer with a shrug and Noah does a double take giving you a 'what the actual fuck' look. You shrug again and rest your fist under your chin, watching the two continue to go back and forth.

"You're starting to piss me off, Noah." Santana says slowly and he barks out a laugh.

"How unfortunate for…"

The four of you all look to the center of the table where the phone was ringing, and you glance up at Noah as he lets out a frustrated breath. Santana rolls her eyes and reaches over and lifts the phone from the receiver, bringing it to her ear.

"Dr. Lopez." She answers and watch her. "He's having a mental breakdown at the moment, just tell me whatever it is…" she trails off, lifting her gaze to you before hanging up and looking at Noah.

"I was right."

"Yeah, don't get used to it." She mumbles as the three of you get up and hurry to follow Noah out of the office.

* * *

><p>Noah steps into the room and you move in next, Santana pushing her way forwards until she is pressed beside you, both of you turned towards each other to fit in the doorway.<p>

"What's going on?" Mike asks from the other side of Noah.

Rachel and Mr. Tyson snap their heads up from Marcus and Rachel speaks, "He has the chills and his temperature is spiking. It's nearly 106."

"What's that mean? What's happening?" Mr. Tyson says in panic as you and Santana move in and over to Marcus. You gently open his eyelids and check them for any yellowing or clotting as Santana checks his heart rate monitor, Mike and Noah moving into the room further.

"Do you want the truth or shall I make something up to protect you?" she asks in annoyance.

"Santana, don't." you say pointedly.

"Maybe a drunk driver came and broke into his room." She finishes with a sharp glare.

"Santana!" you shout, snapping in front of her to get her attention. Mr. Tyson grabs your wrist and you and Santana snap your gazes to him.

"What's happening to my son?" You look at Santana and back at Noah and Mike, before shaking your head.

"We don't know."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Mike and Sebastian are all good now. Well getting there. Seb is not a bad guy, him and Mike just clash a bit. God, what I would've given to have more Sebastian in Glee rather than fricken Blaine. Notice his lack of appearance? Yeah. On a lighter note: Next update, aiming for Wednesday!**

**So if you want, hit me up and tell me what you thought but until next time! Later, Loves!**

**-B**


	14. Chapter 15

**A/N: Good evening readers! Let's get straight to the point because I'm fricken exhausted! Glad you all liked last two chapter smooshed into one, here's ch. 15.**

**-B**

* * *

><p>November, 2014:<p>

_Shocks._

_Headache._

_Nausea._

_Drowsiness._

_Focal Numbness._

_FEVER_

Noah underlines fever and sighs as he puts the cap on, turning and looking back at you, Mike, and Santana.

Apparently Sebastian has a lot to deal with and can no longer help with the case, not that he did much in the first place, and Dean Schuester removed him from the case, leaving it up to the original team. You were sitting on the edge of the table with Santana standing beside you, and Mike sitting in a chair to your other side, waiting for Noah's instructions.

"Maybe the tests were wrong?" Mike suggests and Santana scoffs.

"The tests were right, Chang." She sighs, running a hand through her hair, "Yesterday he had no fever, no infection."

"That doesn't make sense. So he just happened to catch something here?" you ask and Santana rolls her head to look at you.

"Yes, well, this is a hospital, Pierce. Diseased nuisances down every corridor." She states and you give a sarcastic smile.

"His room was sterile, was it not?" you mumble back.

"His white blood cell count was down." Noah says, draping his arm over the top of the board, "Which left him vulnerable. But his count is really down, and that can kill him."

"Fantastic." Mike groans, rubbing his face.

"Yup, and he's shitting his pants again." Santana says with faux excitement. You grimace and shake your head at her. "What, he is." She shrugs.

"Wait, you said _again_?" Noah points out.

"Yeah, well he was getting better." She shakes her head, scratching the side of it with a bored look on her face.

"He was feeling better…he wasn't getting any better." Noah says, squinting in thought at the board. "What causes a 23 year old kid to become immuno-compromised with GI involvement and shocks?" he asks, tapping the marker in his hand against the side of his leg. "Lopez, intravenous broad spectrum antibiotics. Chang, cervical thoracic and lumbar T2 weighted fast spin echo MRI's, and Pierce, see if you can get some names and track down the kids Marcus headed to Jamaica with." He nods, scratching his head, "See if any of them got shocks and whatnot."

* * *

><p>"Brittany!"<p>

You spin around at Quinn's voice and smile widely, accepting her one armed hug, the other holding her purse and jacket.

"Hey, you're heading home already?" you ask as the two of you separate.

"Well not entirely," she nods with a smile, "I just had my last meeting with a patient and I've finished my clinic hours for this week. I was thinking of taking one or two before I left all together to get ahead for next week. What about you? How's your patient?"

"This is a weird case." You admit and she chuckles, stepping out of the way with you when another hoard of interns march down the hall. You shake your head as you watch them before looking back at Quinn, "We were thinking Transverse Myelitis at first, then moved to pesticide poisoning but now we're all branched out. Trying to find something from anywhere. Noah wants me to talk with the patient, get a few names, and pay a few visits to see if anyone had any similar symptoms." You explain, putting your hands in the pockets of your lab coat.

Quinn tilts her head in interest and you chuckle, "What would his friends have to do with this?"

"Him and a few buddies traveled to Jamaica over spring break, we think he caught something from there."

"Ahh, I see." She smiles before arching a brow and motioning to the patient's room, "Mind if I tag along. This sounds pretty interesting."

"Really?" you ask through a laugh. She nods and you shrug, "Sure. If we can get him to release a few names that is."

"I think I could help with that." She winks before the two of you enter the room.

Mr. Tyson and Marcus look towards you and Quinn when you step inside and they eye her carefully.

You hold your hand out towards her and she smiles, stepping forwards with her hand outstretched, "This is Dr. Fabray. She's offering her help with the case."

"Nice to meet you." Quinn says, shaking the fathers hand before smiling at Marcus and moving to his side with you at the foot of the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap." He grins faintly and she lets out a laugh.

"That's expected. Just hold on, the doctors you have working on your case are the best." She winks reassuringly and both Marcus and Mr. Tyson smile in appreciation.

You roll your eyes playfully at how she slips into sympathetic oncologist mode and step forwards, dropping your hands to the foot of the bed, Marcus looking at you. "We were wondering if we could grab a few names from you. We'd like to see if any of your friends have been experiencing similar symptoms so we can get a better idea of what we're dealing with." You tell him softly.

"We were already asked this in the ER. What else can we tell you?" Mr. Tyson asks.

You nod, "We understand that, but they didn't have the information we do now."

"And what information would that be?" he asks, shaking his head as he looks from you to Quinn and back. You look at Marcus, catching the subtle shake of his head and look down before smiling at Mr. Tyson. "What? Is something wrong?" he asks, stepping closer to his son's bed.

"Would you mind if we spoke to Marcus alone for a moment?" Quinn asks politely and you look at her over your shoulder. She nods and motions to the door while Mr. Tyson furrows his brows.

"If something is wrong then you…"

"Mr. Tyson, I can assure you nothing is wrong. It's just…confidential." She says and you wet your lips, letting out a breath as you glance back at the boy.

"Why is something suddenly confidential?" he asks with a squint. "If you know something about my son, you should be talking to me, not asking me to leave the room."

"I'm sorry, I'm going to insist that you…" you begin.

"I'm his father." He says, pointing at Marcus. "And if I'm going to take care of him…I need to know what's going on. You shouldn't be keeping information about my boy from…"

"Dad, stop." Marcus mumbles, looking at his father as you and Quinn look down at him, "They want to know who I went to Jamaica with." Mr. Tyson shakes his head and Marcus blinks tiredly, "Riley's dad flew a bunch of us down during spring break."

"You told me…"

"I know what I told you. I just wanted to take an actual break while I could for once, instead of working my ass off." He says with a huff.

You swallow and look back at Quinn, the other blonde glancing at you with a faint smile. "I shouldn't have lied."

"What you should've done, was come home."

"I'm sorry." You interrupt and get everyone's attention. You smile apologetically, "We're going to need those names."

* * *

><p>"We just figured it was from the hardcore drinking and shit."<p>

You and Quinn exchange glances before looking ahead of you at the twenty four year old boy, Riley, sitting behind the large oak desk. He looked like every other spoiled rich boy, handed his career on a silver platter. Gelled hair, expensive, pristine suit, etc.

"What exactly were your symptoms?"

"You know, headaches, nausea, vomiting." He says, leaning back in his chair. You want to roll your eyes so hard but keep it professional and write down what he tells you on the notebook your brought, "Why do you think what's going on with Marcus is related to what happened on the trip?"

"That's confidential." Quinn says, seeing you struggle to find something to say.

Riley narrows his eyes at her before pointing his pen at her, leaning forwards, "Who are you?"

"I'm a consult on Marcus's case." She states with a look that blatantly states 'don't mess with me'.

"So!" you say loudly, breaking their glare match, "No unexplained pain or strange feelings since you've been back?"

"No." he says slowly, pulling his gaze from the oncologist before picking up a paper from a stack of them and running his eyes over it, "Besides a little athletes foot, I'm perfectly fine." He mumbles, squinting at the bottom of the page while you arch a brow.

"Can I see it?" you ask on the edge of your seat. Riley's eyes snap up when you get to your feet, and Quinn leans back in her chair, holding her head up.

"Uh, see what exactly?" he asks in confusion.

You pause and give him an arched brow, "Your feet." You tell him and motion to your bag, waiting for Quinn to retrieve the latex gloves and hand them to you. "There is a common bacteria in Jamaica that resembles foot fungus." You tell him, standing next to the desk with your hands on your hips, expectantly.

He wets his lips and nods slowly, "You know…it's not really on my feet. I just thought fungus is fungus." You nod, motioning for him to show you and he clears his throat. "It's my groin." He says and you blink.

"I'm going to need to take a look at that." You say easily. Riley swallows and glances at Quinn. You follow his gaze and she just nods at him with an amused smirk making you shake your head and look back at him.

"Like…now?" he asks.

"Yeah, now. Unless you want to follow me to the hospital."

"Yeah, no, we're in the middle of a really big merge, and I just started a few days ago, if I leave…"

"Then drop your pants." Quinn says firmly and you arch a brow at him, motioning for him to get up. He releases a heavy breath and gets up, fiddling with his belt. You wait patiently as his pants drop down and crouch low, checking furrowing your brows at the reddish bumps on the inside of his thighs. You tilt your head, and lift your gaze when the door opens and an older man walks in, stopping and looking at all three of you.

"What the hell is going on here?" he asks slowly as you return to looking at the rash.

"S-she's a doctor."

"He has a rash." Quinn says and you hum in agreement.

"Right." He says with an eye roll, "As soon as she's done with your _rash_, I need that report on my desk."

"Of course." Riley nods as you tap the inside of his knee and tell him to spread his legs further. You glance up to see him blush deeply and smirk in amusement, glancing at Quinn when she snorts.

"Great." Riley's boss says and goes to leave before pausing, "Oh, and doctor…" he says with a twitch of is lips, "Why don't you leave a card on your way out?" he suggests, before looking at Quinn, "Either of you. Or both." He winks and leaves the room as you grimace and straighten, pulling your gloves off.

* * *

><p>You walk into the café of the hospital and spot Santana first, before Noah and Mike walk over to the table where she is seated, carrying trays of their food. You shake your head and make your way over, sliding in beside Santana.<p>

"So?" Noah asks as Santana shuffles over a bit, crossing her legs to give you more room; stirring her coffee with a disinterested look.

"No one had any health issues." You say with a shrug before leaning forwards and bringing your hands under your chin, "I mean, this one kid had a rash but other than that? Nothing. Why are we in the café?" you ask as Mike and Noah continue to eat their sandwiches. You look at Santana as she lowers her coffee and lift your brows.

"The idiots believe that this booth is blessed or some shit." She sighs as you look at her coffee, smelling vanilla and caramel.

"Tell her why." Noah says with his mouth full.

"There have been previous cases that were hard to crack and we've solved them…" she trails off, eyeing you as you stare at her coffee.

You glance up at her and straighten, nodding for her to continue.

She shakes her head faintly and holds her mug out for you, "It's a vanilla latte with a caramel drip." She sighs.

"Ou…" you hum, accepting the mug, and take a hesitant sip. "Oh my god, that's amazing." You breathe.

"Yeah, I know." Santana nods, shifting in her spot, "Anyway, when we can't crack a case we come here, same booth and everything, and finally think of the right diagnosis." She explains as you lower her cup from your lips, savoring the delicious taste of the latte. "Can I…" she motions for her mug back and you smile sheepishly, handing it over with a thank you. "Yeah." She mumbles, taking a sip.

"So, one of the kids had a rash." Mike says, wiping his mouth with a napkin, "Nothing else?"

"What kind of rash?" Noah asks and you scrunch your nose, pointing at the men's food.

"You know, I don't really understand why you'd come in the cafeteria to talk about this kind of stuff while you eat." You say and Santana nods in agreement. "I'm guessing that's why you stick with a drink."

"If I'm hungry enough it doesn't bother me." Mike says and Noah pats his shoulder in agreement before swallowing a bite of his food. "So what kind of rash?"

You sigh and shrug, "No idea. I took a few scrapings but it doesn't appear to be ringworm. Aside from that it basically just looked like a diaper rash." You tell them.

"Kaposi's can look like diaper rash." Santana nods, "any discoloration around the edges?"

"That doesn't matter." Noah says, "Even if it is Kaposi's…our guy doesn't have any skin symptoms. Plus you ruled out cancer early on didn't you?"

"Well what are the odds of two friends, returning from a trip outside the country, developing unexplained illnesses?" Santana asks in annoyance. "We bring him in."

"He won't come. I already suggested that. He just got a job after graduation and they're working on some big merger."

"Tell him his friend's life depends on it." She says and you give her a look.

"That's what I told him in the first place. He's not here." Santana purses her lips and you give a smug smile before taking her latte and bringing it to your lips for a large sip.

She narrows her eyes at you, lips twitching into a smirk and you arch a brow as you lower the mug. "Tell him his life depends on it." She states, leaning forwards. You tense as Santana stares into your eyes, her smirk deepening as her fingers brush over yours, taking her mug back as she leans back in her spot, "Tell him it's flesh-eating and his…little friend is next on the menu."

"You're terrible." You tell her and she shrugs, her eyes sparkling playfully as she looks at Noah and Mike for their input. They shrug and you drop your shoulders, "I'm not lying to the kid." You tell them firmly and Santana sighs.

"You're weak, Pierce." She says, and you open your mouth to throw something back at her when all your pagers go off. You lift your gaze from yours and Santana nudges you to move from the booth. "Looks like it might be a little late anyway." She says, handing you her mug before hurrying out of the café with Mike.

You roll your eyes as Noah stands up and push the mug into his hands before following after your two colleagues.

* * *

><p><strong>Let me know what you think, lates!<strong>

**-B**


	15. Chapter 16

**A/N: Oh my god, loves! Firstly, I love, love, love how much you are all enjoying this story so far! I didn't think I'd be able to pull something like this off but all your feedback and kind words make me feel amazing and so fricken happy! Secondly, this chapter was one of my absolute FAVORITES to write! Probably my favorite so far that you have read because of the Brittana interaction. I'm really excited to see how you all respond to this chapter.**

**P.S. It's a nice longer one for ya too!**

**-B**

* * *

><p>November, 2014:<p>

You hear Marcus's shouts of agony the moment you get out of the elevator and run towards the room.

"What's happening?" you ask as you step into the room, Santana and Mike checking over the vitals with Mr. Tyson watching in panic a few steps from the bed. The room is filled with Marcus's screaming and the monitor beeping repeatedly as you look around with wide eyes.

"His stomach's getting a lot worse." He says quickly as you move to Mike's side, pulling the blanket down.

Santana's eyes flicker over the monitor, searching, as Mike holds Marcus down by his shoulders. You place your hands on his stomach, moving to the side a bit and shake your head.

"It's rigid!" you tell them quickly, locking your gaze with Mike's, "He's bleeding into his abdomen."

"Lopez, get a surgeon and an O.R, stat." he says firmly and she nods quickly, moving to the phone as you and Mike hold Marcus down to keep him from moving too much.

"Hold on, Marcus. It'll be fine." You tell him reassuringly as he screams.

* * *

><p>You stand between Mike and Santana overlooking the operation procedure from the observatory room above. Five doctors moving around Marcus's, working on fixing him up.<p>

Footsteps come from behind the three of you and Mike speaks up, "The infection caused a perforation in his sigmoid colon." He tells Noah as you look at Santana. "It's repairable."

She turns her head, looking at you, and offers a faint reassuring smile before turning her attention back to the operation.

"But this means the antibiotics aren't working." Noah states.

"We could double the does and add Tygacil to the list?" Mike suggests and you shake your head faintly.

"When he's out of surgery." Noah says and its silent for a moment before he speaks up again, "Where's the kid with the rash?" You feel Mike and Noah turn to look at you and wet your lips, keeping your gaze on the operation.

"He's at work." You mumble and Santana glances at you. "I'm not going to lie to him."

"Because it's wrong?" Santana asks quietly, "Or because you're a coward?"

You clench your jaw and look at her with a faint glare, "Really, Santana?"

"I told you two hours ago you need to bring the kid in. You wasted two hours of our time waiting around because you don't want to lie to his friend." She says in annoyance, turning with crossed arms to face you completely, "Even if that means saving our patient's _life_." She argues, "It wouldn't even take much of his time. Even if it did, is that so morally and unforgivably wrong? No, I don't believe it is. Unless we're wrong." She tips her head to the side, glancing at Marcus before returning her gaze to you. "Even if we _are_ wrong, at least we'll be able to check something off the list, bringing us closer to actually being able to identify what could be _killing_ Marcus."

You keep her gaze as she clenches her own jaw, shaking her head at you, "You're scared of being wrong."

"When someone's life is in your hands, I believe that's a pretty good reason to do or not do something." You tell her and she scoffs, stepping closer.

"What happened to the doctor that risked everything on her very first case to ensure she saved the life of her patient? Even though her theory was completely ridiculous."

"That's exactly why-"

"Puckerman." You and Santana keep your challenging gazes locked as Mike and Noah turn to look at Dean Schuester. "That boy's friend is coming in." You look at your boss's boss and Santana looks back at the operation.

"Why?" you ask slowly. If Santana or one of the others lied to bring him in…

"He's vomiting blood." Schuester says and Santana snaps her head up, looking at you and the rest of the team. "The ambulance is five minutes out." He says before leaving.

* * *

><p>You watch Santana pull on latex gloves as you and her wait by the ambulance entrance, the paramedics lowering Riley on the stretcher to the ground, pushing him inside.<p>

Noah and Mike agreed to stay and watch the remainder of Marcus's surgery, sending you two to meet with Riley and figure something out.

You put your hands out, stopping the two paramedics from rolling Riley down to the ER as Santana moves to his side, snapping the glove against her wrist.

"Hold on a second." She says, nodding to one of the men.

"Hey…" Riley says quietly, weakly lifting his hand to point at you.

"Yeah, you don't listen to her." Santana says firmly, sending you a look before focusing back on the boy. You scowl at her as she pulls his blanket down to his knees.

"Lopez, he's vomited in excess of three units of blood." One of them says, holding his hand out to stop Santana from looking at the rash. "He needs-"

"Look," she says in annoyance, sending him a glare, "If you wanted to be a doctor, maybe you should've tried harder in high school. Okay?"

"Bitch." He scoffs, shaking his head as he crosses his arm.

"Heard it all before." She sighs, grabbing a pair of scissors and cutting open Riley's slacks. You step closer, tilting your head as you watch in curiosity. "How close are you and Marcus?"

"Not that close." He says, his cheeks turning pink as he glances at you. You arch a brow and look back at Santana as she rolls her eyes, ripping his slacks.

"Hmm, no? So you didn't share a room or anything?"

"We're not gay." He says and you hold back an amused smile as Santana nods skeptically.

"Not saying you are." She shrugs, smiling at him before ripping his slack more to reveal the front of his briefs, "I'm just saying you had sex."

"We're not gay. We don't even hang out."

"You flew him down to Jamaica." You state and Santana pauses before continuing as Riley looks at you.

"He's in my frat." He shakes his head, letting his head fall back against the stretcher, "Between school, sports, and going home to work in his dad's junkyard, he barely has time to hang out with anyone."

"It's not fungus." She says thoughtfully and you scoff, shifting on your feet as you cross your arms.

"Pretty sure I already told you that."

"No pustules, it's not staph…" she sighs, straightening up as she looks at you. You lift your brows, expecting an apology when she furrows her own and looks back at Riley. "Wait…his dad's what?"

"His dad owns a scrap metal salvage yard. Marcus works there during the breaks." He says and you move closer to Santana as she nods slowly.

"What are you thinking?" you ask and she just motions for the paramedics to continue while putting the scissors down and grabbing your wrist, leading you off. "Santana?" you ask. She lets go of your wrist when you turn a corner and shakes her head.

"He lied." She says with a sarcastic laugh, "Again. God, you know I really hate idiots." She groans as you both head to the elevator.

"What are you talking about?" you ask in confusion, stepping inside the elevator with her, "What do you think it is?"

"That moron…" she lets out a heavy breath, turning to you. You take a surprised step back when she steps forward and she lifts her shoulders, "Did his father not say he owns a construction company?" she asks in anger. You relax and think back before slowly nodding. "Fucking idiot." She hisses, pacing the confined area.

"I'm really not following." You tell her and hesitate before following her out of the elevator to Marcus's room.

* * *

><p>"Do <em>any<em> of you know how to tell the god damn truth?" She asks, shoving the curtains to the side.

You come up behind her, seeing Mr. Tyson look away from Marcus to her with a confused look as Noah and Mike look from his file and monitor.

"Excuse me?" Mr. Tyson asks.

"Right, considering your family, I need to be more specific." She rolls her eyes as you walk in behind her, stopping at the foot of the bed beside her. "What could possibly be the reason for lying about your job?"

"What's happening?" Mike asks you and you shrug.

"Look, I know how it works." Mr. Tyson says as Santana hums, nodding for him to go on, "The better my job, the better treatment for my son."

"You have got to be kidding me." She deadpans. "Did I miss something? Were you served filet mignon during your stay here?"

"Santana." Noah says in warning, moving over to her.

"The last time Marcus worked for you did he find something…unusual? Braided wire with metal weight on each end? Lead canister? Maybe even the lid; could've used it as a door stop or whatever?" she asks, crossing her arms as you and the rest of the team stand nearby, completely in the dark.

"No." Mr. Tyson says, shaking his head, "Why would he even…" You furrow your brows when he stops, a thoughtful look on his face, and glance at Santana as she lifts her brows, nodding. "I gave him an old plumb for an early graduation present. Made it into a keychain. So he'd always know where he came from."

"Where is it?" she asks and he shrugs.

"I have no idea. He uses it as a good luck charm."

Santana rolls her eyes and looks at Noah and Mike, "Where are his clothes?"

"The bureau in his regular room, why?" Mike says as Santana tells you to come with her. You look at her in surprise but follow her nonetheless, Noah and Mike hot on your tail.

"Get it to radiology." She says as you four move down the hall.

"His clothes?" Mike asks in confusion as Noah moves up to Santana's side, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"No, the bureau. And don't open it." She says quickly.

"Lopez, what's going on?" he asks, moving his hand to cross his arms.

"Just...trust me on this." She says and you hold your hand up.

"What happened to _we don't do something based on trust_?" you ask, reminding her of your first case together. She gives you an eye roll before looking back at her cousin and boss.

Noah looks at the three of you before nodding and nodding to Mike to follow him.

Santana lets out a breath and looks at you, wetting her lips, "Come with me." She says, starting towards radiology.

* * *

><p>You sit in the office portion of the radiology lab, watching Santana hook up a machine as Mike and Noah come through the doors, carrying what you guess is Marcus's bedroom bureau. They set it down and Santana hands Noah the measuring tool before backing up.<p>

"This thing is radioactive." Santana tells Mike and Noah, you watching in confusion. Mike nods and quickly moves from the bureau, heading into the office where you are and stands beside you as you sit at the desk, and gives a small smile.

"You think radiation caused CNS symptoms?" Noah asks as Santana stops from heading into the office. He chuckles and puts the Geiger counter down on top of the bureau, looking at Santana with an amused grin. "The chances of that are-" he stops when the counter sounds loudly, and takes a tiny step back . You and Mike lean forwards and you look to Santana, taking a few steps closer before all eyes go to Noah.

"Come on, Puckerman." She says, nodding to the gadget, "You're the boss."

He huffs and grabs the Geiger, opening the first drawer and hovers the metal rod of the machine over the clothing. You let out a breath as the static sound increases and Noah glances up at Santana, shaking his head in disbelief. "Jesus…" he says quietly, looking back down and pulls out a small backpack from the drawer, running the rod over it and stopping when the static increases tenfold.

"Call the team." Noah says, looking at you and Mike. Mike nods and goes to the phone as Santana looks at you through the window. You tilt your head and she looks back at Noah, letting out a heavy sigh.

* * *

><p>"You know," you sigh as you slide into the booth, across from Santana. "As much as I hate to admit it, you were pretty impressive today." You say with a small smile.<p>

Santana looks up from her crossword puzzle and eyes you.

"Usually when someone compliments you, you say thank you." You tease, leaning forwards to rest your folded arms on the table as Santana cracks a faint smile. "Finally!" you laugh, smiling widely at her as she leans back in the booth, letting a full smile show. "Do you know how long I've been trying to get you to actually smile?" you ask.

"Congratulations." She chuckles, fiddling with her pen, "You succeeded."

"You're using pen?" you ask and she nods, "Must be pretty confident."

"I always am." She states.

You hum, holding her stare before she looks back down at the puzzle. You tap your fingers against your arm before straightening your back and sighing, moving to get up.

"About…what I said earlier." She starts and you slowly lower back to the booth. She glances up and shakes her head at herself before wetting her lips, "I didn't mean it. I mean…I did but shouldn't made a scene and put you on the spot. Especially in front of idiot one and two." She says.

You smile at her words and nod, "Thank you…but you were kind of right."

"Oh I know." She says and you roll your eyes with a smile, making her let out a chuckle. "Still. This week has…this case has just been stressful; pissing me off." She mumbles, looking back at the crossword while lifting her pen to chew lightly on the end.

"I get that. But hey, you solved the case." You point out and Santana shakes her head with a scrunch of her nose.

"No. It was a brilliant idea, I agree, but Noah texted me. The radioactive measurements weren't high enough to cause any central nervous system damage."

You frown and she nods, "It might not have caused nerve damage but I'm pretty positive his immune system is shot."

"And we're back at phase one." She huffs, narrowing her eyes at the puzzle. She groans and tosses the paper to you before doing the same with the pen. "23 across." She says, running her hands over her face before leaving them on her cheeks, elbows resting against the table as you pick it up and read the hint.

"Slang word for unmitigated effrontery or impudence?" you ask her, glancing up and she nods, holding her hand out.

"I have no idea what the-"

"Oh, chutzpa!" you exclaim with a smile and she scrunches her nose.

"What the hell is chutzpa?" she asks before shaking her head, "How did you even know that?"

"My granddad said it a lot." You shrug and Santana tilts her head, studying you carefully with a faint smile making you blush and look down.

"Pierce, Lopez," Mike calls from the café entrance. Santana rolls her eyes and you look over at him as he waves you over before putting his hands in the pockets of his coat. "Puck wants us in the office."

* * *

><p>"Did you come up with anything?" Santana asks as the three of you step into the office. Noah lowers his hand from his chin, uncrossing his other arm and puts both hands on his hips as he nods faintly. "Fantastic," she says sarcastically, "What is it?"<p>

"As you know, the radioactive measurement levels weren't high enough to cause nervous system damage."

"Pierce and I already know his immune system is destroyed." She says. Mike lifts a brow at you, and you shrug, sitting on the edge of the table and cross your legs.

"Right, but the levels not only destroyed his immune system, they were high enough to cause tumors." He says and you furrow your brows.

"Tumors should've shown up on an MRI." You tell him and he nods while fixing the cuffs of his shirt.

"They might on a Pet scan." He says before nodding to the three of you, "Do one. Check his cervical spine."

You get up to follow Santana and Mike, stopping when you see Noah run his hand over his head, shaking it slightly as he stares at the whiteboard.

"Noah?" you ask carefully and he lifts his head, looking at you and the others. "What's wrong?"

"It's not going to be good news."

* * *

><p>"Mr. Tyson," you say as you step into Marcus's room.<p>

His father gets to his feet quickly and you bite your bottom lip, looking at your hands sadly before lifting your gaze, "It isn't good news. The piece of metal you gave your son was from an instrument used to test wells. Obviously people aren't supposed to dump radioactive material but…well, they do." You tell him and he shifts, crossing his arms as he looks between your eyes, waiting for you to continue.

"What do you do now? What has to be done?" he asks, the two of you glancing at Santana and Mike hooking Marcus up for treatment and checking his clipboard.

"Anyone who came in contact with the piece will need immediate treatment for radiation sickness."

"So…" he smiles quickly, "So there is a treatment?"

You give a small smile at his hopeful tone and expression as he looks at his son, and glance at Santana. She lifts her gaze from the clipboard, to you, and gives you a faint nod.

"Transfusions. We try to balance the fluid and electrolytes but…Marcus…" Mr. Tyson looks at you at his son's name, his hopeful smile faltering at your tone, "He's had much more exposure." You say regretfully.

"How much more?"

"About the equivalent of seventy thousand chest x-rays." You say, furrowing your brows to keep your composure, "His ability to create white blood cells has been completely destroyed."

"That's why he can't fight off this infection?"

"Yes." You nod, glancing back at Mike and Santana finishing up. They both look at you before Mike looks at Santana, her looking at him before looking back at you. "He's going to need a bone marrow transplant." Mr. Tyson blinks hard and shakes his head, running his hands down his face as you shift. "We also did another Pet scan. Marcus has a cavernous angioma within his spinal cord. A tumor. It's what's been causing the shocks and CNS symptoms."

You wait as he hangs his head, hands on his hips, and close your eyes, hating that you were the one having to tell him this.

"He...He has a _tumor_…in his spinal cord." He repeats slowly, blinking at he looks up at you, his eyes glistening with unshed tears and your throat swells.

"Um…" you begin to nod when Mike comes over, touching Mr. Tysons shoulder to get his attention.

"The cord is made up of strings." He says, glancing at you to make sure you're okay as you shake your head and look to the side, "Like a kite string. The surgeon should be able to easily separate the strings and extract the tumor. But, surgery for someone like Marcus, considering his condition, is extremely risky."

You turn and leave the room as Mike begins to tell him without surgery Marcus's breathing and heart may stop, going towards the stairs hallway.

You run your hand over your face, holding it on top of your head as you swallow the lump in your throat and lean against the wall closest to the stairs. You watch another doctor come down from the stairs, giving you a polite nod as he walks by and into the main area of the floor, before closing your eyes and holding back from crying.

Your shoulders jump as you hold back a cry, dropping your hand to your forehead when you hear the click of heels close by.

"Pierce?"

You shake your head, turning your head away from Santana as you try to discreetly wipe under your eyes before glancing at her when she moves in front of you. "You're crying." She states and you roll your eyes.

"Is that obvious?" you snap quietly, wincing as Santana nods, looking taken back. "Sorry." You mumble, shaking your head at yourself.

She doesn't say anything for a while, just stands with you until your breathing returns to normal and you start to feel embarrassed over how you acted.

"I get it." She finally says and you slowly lift your gaze from the floor to meet her gaze. "It sucks having to deliver bad news to the families and patients themselves." She sighs, running a hand through her free hair, stepping towards the space against the wall next to you. She leans back against it as you are and wets her lips. "My very first case with Puck and Mike, our patient was a sixteen year old boy. He had tuberculoma _and_ rabies." She says and you nod faintly, letting her go on, "It took us forever to figure out what the hell he had but…in the end we didn't figure it out soon enough. I was the one who broke the news to him and his family." She says slowly, staring ahead of her. "My first case, and we couldn't save him. I couldn't save him." She chuckles coldly at herself. "I know how it feels. Like it's your fault." She says, turning her head to look at you.

You swallow, staring at her glistening eyes, and she wets her lips, "It's not. Not everything is in your control and sooner or later you're going to realize that. But knowing you can't prevent everything doesn't mean you can't prevent the majority. You never forget those you couldn't save, but you just have to focus on all of the people you _did_; those you _will_." She finishes in a whisper and lifts her gaze from the space between you, offering a faint reassuring smile. "And you'll have me with you so you won't suck that much." She adds making you shake your head and crack a smile.

"You had something going for you and you ruined it." You tell her through a chuckle, looking back at her as she laughs, nodding.

"Yeah, well, a little too much sentimental shit going on." She says, slowly pushing from the wall and heading away from the stairs as you take a breath and rest your head back against the wall. "Pierce…you're okay?" she asks, pausing from leaving and you give her a thankful smile.

"Yeah. Thanks, Santana."

She bites her lip and nods, holding your gaze for a moment before leaving.

* * *

><p>You sink down onto your couch with a tea mug in hand and a throw wrapped around your shoulders. It was around eight in the evening and you just got home from walking Chess, trying to clear your mind of Marcus and his father.<p>

The surgery had gone well, the surgeon was able to get all of the tumor, but the infection was ever still present and cause another intestinal perforation. His white blood count continued to drop and reality was that no matter what you and the team gave him it was unlikely he would be able to fight off the infection.

You slowly poke your tongue out to wet your lips and lift your mug up when someone knocks at your door. You shush Chess before he can even think about barking and get up, moving to the door while keeping the throw around you.

You pull it open without looking through the peep hole and smile sadly as Mike holding a case of beer and Noah, hands in jacket pockets, stand in front of you with similar expressions to match your own. You step to the side and let them in, going to close the door when Santana slides in front of the door from leaning against the wall. Your smile grows slowly and Santana shrugs, lifting a bottle of scotch in her right hand.

"In case you're not a fan of beer." She offers and you lean against the side of the door, smiling at her as she walks in.

* * *

><p><strong> AN: Okay, personally, I loved Santana in this chapter. Besides the first bit when she was bitching at Brittany but eh. So Britt is chipping away at San's exterior bit by bit, AND you got a little background on Santana. Also, the cuteness that is Santana going out of her way to find Britt and try to cheer her up. Friends maybe? There will be more Santana history in...not next chapter but the one after that I believe, not entirely sure, Id have to look over the doc again but I'm almost positive. And you for sure get to know some more about Brittany next chapter! God, I'm so excited, we're moving forwards quickly!**

**Also I wanted to say before anyone asks, this episode it wasn't stated if the patient had survived or not. It obviously would lean more o him not surviving but I like to believe maybe a miracle happened and he did survive somehow. So, whichever outcome you'd prefer, go with that. **

**-B**


	16. Chapter 17

**A/N: Salutations! A quick thank you two everyone who reviewed, glad you're liking the story and sticking with it lol. Holy crap, so most of you if not all know about Naya's little "coming out" on The View, right? Although I'm not sure if she was just being totally smooth with it or it was a joke, hopefully she'll tweet about it OR comment on it when she's back on the show tomorrow! 3 days in a row! They really need to give her a permanent spot already, they love her!**

**So, now, lol, here's chapter 17.**

**-B**

* * *

><p>December, 2014:<p>

"Ladies." Kurt greets you and Quinn before looking at Santana, "Satan."

"That's getting old, fairy." She says with a smirk when Kurt's smug smile falls at the name.

You and Quinn exchange amused looks while Santana rolls her eyes at the man, turning her attention back to the file in her hands. The three of you were standing and chatting, more so you and Quinn, beside the reception desk in the clinic when Kurt came bounding over.

"You know, the gay jokes don't really have much of an effect when you're gay too." He says, putting his hands on his hips as he cocks one to the side.

Santana hums indifferently and flips a page, "I'm not nearly as flamboyant."

"No, but you're butch as hell." He smirks and Santana snaps her head up, eyes wide before narrowing into a dangerous glare. Kurt's smirk deepens as you downcast your eyes, holding back a laugh, Quinn snickering against her own clinic file.

Santana pulls her gaze from Kurt, smacking Quinn's arm.

"Sorry." She holds her hand and file up in defense and Santana rolls her eyes before looking at you, biting your lip to keep from smiling too big.

"Come on, that was pretty funny." You admit.

"No, it really wasn't." she states and you look at her pointedly, folding your arms. She arches a challenging brow.

"Santana, the last time we went to the lounge you were wearing a camouflage vest." You state, "And when I ran into you at the grocery store you were wearing combat boots, a beanie, and a red flannel."

Quinn and Kurt burst out laughing as Santana takes a calming breath, you smiling victoriously.

"That doesn't prove I'm butch."

"You have that walk."

"What walk?" Santana questions quickly with her brows raised in shock.

"That walk." You shrug.

She open and closes her mouth, furrowing her brows in thought before shaking her head and crossing her arms, "I have a very _feminine_ walk."

"You might as well show your boxers and have your jeans down to your knees."

Santana stutters, appalled by the thought and plasters on a scowl, closing her file with attitude before pushing it into your free hands. "You can deal with this." She states before looking at the young receptionist with a sultry smile, "Please make sure you log Dr. Pierce's next patient under my hours."

The young woman nods slowly, blushing at the attention and Santana winks, thanking her sweetly before flipping her hair over her shoulder and sending you a mocking wink. You smile, shaking your head at her as you watch her walk away with an added sway to her hips, and glance at Kurt and Quinn watching you knowingly.

"Neal Morrison?" you call out before they can start and smile at the child getting up with his mother. "Follow me." You tell them before glancing at your friends and spinning on your heel.

* * *

><p>You admit sometimes you can be a little airheaded but this was just ridiculous.<p>

You swear Dean Schuester had just recently renovated, creating a locker room in the hospital because there is no way you could've gone months without knowing this was here. Whatever, better late than never you guess. And at least now you could keep an emergency toiletries kit in your assigned locker for when you have to pull an all-nighter, or just in case you forget to brush your teeth on a rush morning.

You struggle with the combo, messing up your first few tries and exclaim triumphantly when it pops open your third try.

"Oh you actually found it."

You roll your eyes and look over your shoulder as Santana walks in, slipping off her lab coat.

"You could've told me." You tell her and she shrugs, moving to her locker a few down from yours.

"Nah, it was more fun watching you wonder."

"So what you really mean is, you find my struggles entertaining?"

"Precisely." She smirks, looking at you with a smirk while beginning to unbutton her blouse. You arch a brow at her and she arches one back, slipping her shirt from her body.

You let yourself stare for a second, appreciating how her purple bra emphasizes her already bodacious bust.

"Enjoying the view?" she asks with a knowing twinkle in her eye and you blink, lifting your gaze and shrug.

"What view?"

Her smirk falters and you send her a smug smile turning to grab your scarf.

"Oh please, do you know how many times I've caught you leering?"

"Probably as many times as I've caught you." You reply easily, pulling your coat on. She snorts in amusement and you smile to yourself.

"So…Did Hummel cordially invite you to his Holiday shindig?"

You frown, "Uh, no? He's having a Christmas thing?" you ask, glancing over your shoulder.

Santana pulls a warm looking sweater over her head before nodding and swapping her skirt for jeans, "He's had one for the past five years. And if Rachel was here you'd be getting an excruciatingly boring lecture on how not everyone celebrates Christmas, _therefore_ it's only proper to wish people a Happy Holidays." She looks at you and you scrunch your nose. "Yeah."

"Well yeah, no he hasn't invited me."

"Oops." She smirks and you drop your shoulders before thinking and smiling sweetly. Santana's smirk falters and you tilt your head at her, stepping closer until you're a bodies are only a few inches from touching.

"Is this your way of asking me to be your plus one?" you tease.

Santana wets her lips slowly, biting her bottom as she scans her eyes down your body, slowly lifting while releasing her bottom lip with a seductive grin.

"Sorry, Pierce. Maybe next time." She rasps and you inhale sharply as her grin grows.

"Brittany? Mike told me you were coming here and I-Santana!"

You step back as Santana slowly looks at Kurt with a clenched jaw, and give him a quick smile, your cheeks burning as he looks between the two of you with a sly smirk of his own.

"I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?"

"Guess we'll never know, Porcelain." She states, retrieving her things from her locker. She closes the locker, shrugging her coat on before nodding at you, "Later, Pierce," and leaving the room.

"Oh my god, that was totally something, wasn't it?" Kurt asks excitedly, "I totally walked in on something!" he shrieks with a beaming smile and you just stare at him until he comes to a realization. "Oh. Ohhh, I totally just walked in on something." He says, wincing, and sends you an apologetic smile as you roll your eyes and close your locker.

"Your timing is impeccable, Kurt." You state, "Anyway, why were you searching me out?"

"Right. Earlier I meant to invite the three of you to my Holiday Hangout, Christmas Eve, but both you and Santana left before I could."

"Holiday Hangout…that's what you call it?"

"Rachel gets upset and goes all professor on me when I call it a Christmas party." He waves it off and you nod, "So you in?"

"I don't think so." You say softly and Kurt pouts, "I mean, I'd love to go but I usually head home for the holidays. Spend it with the family, you know?"

"You don't sound too excited about that…" he says curiously and you shrug after a second, "Well. I'll keep a place for you at the table in case you change your mind later on. Besides, there's still a week before the date." He smiles and you chuckle, linking your arm with his as you leave the room.

* * *

><p>Two days before Christmas Eve you're sitting in bed, legs crossed indian style as you sip tea and flip through one of the large photo album books your mother gave you a couple years ago for Christmas. It was filled with photos of the holiday's from the time you were an infant to when you were twenty-seven. You don't have any siblings so it was mostly just you and your parents in the photos; the occasional group picture with your cousins, or standing between your grandparents.<p>

It was a little harder for you growing up without any other children in the house. You were never the most popular; always sitting alone at a table with your crayons and picture books. Even in junior high you were shunned for being smart. Yeah. The only decent years of school were senior year and your years in post-secondary.

With all that said, there was always one person who you called your best friend. Your dad. He would be the one to sweep you off your feet, planting you on his shoulders as a kid, carrying you up to bed where'd you'd wonder how you seemingly teleported from the living room couch to your bedroom, changed into your rainbow pajamas.

When you got older, junior high and high school, he was the one you'd talk to about not feeling like you had any place in the school, and he'd just sit with you and listen before giving you a pep talk and taking your mind off your troubles with gallons of bubble gum ice cream and medical and mystery television shows and movies.

He was the first person you came out to. The one who just pressed a kiss to your temple and whispered that he always did and always will love you the same no matter what.

And so when he fell ill, you were devastated. It didn't help that the doctors had no idea what was wrong with him, only to discover he had pancreatic cancer and only a few months; unless he took treatment, and maybe he would've lived a year. But he'd be in pain, and he said he knew that the pain wouldn't only cause suffering from him but for you and your mother, everyone around him. You didn't understand why he wouldn't just try it but soon enough you accepted it and just spent all of your time, when you weren't in lectures, in the hospital with him.

He was the reason you became who you are today. You want to be able to identify illnesses and treat them before they get to the point that there is nothing that can be done but wait for death to steal another life.

Santana was right when she said you got attached to patients, but it wasn't your fault. You felt a sense of duty and you wanted to make sure no one would suffer if you could help them. Because you know the pain of losing someone so close to you.

Which is why you're holding your phone in hand, dialing your mothers number and bringing the phone to your ear.

It had been twelve years since your father passed away and each year it gets harder to go home and be reminded of how he's no longer there to celebrate the holidays with you and your family. It was too hard to sit around watching the same movies you did with him, drink eggnog with a hint of cinnamon as he always liked it, and bake his favorite recipe of pecan pie while wearing hideous Christmas sweaters he insisted made the holiday season.

Every year it was the same thing and you don't think you will be able to handle it and hold it together.

"_Brittany, darling! I'm so glad you called, what time will you be coming in? I haven't received your flight information._"

You force a faint smile and pet Chess slowly, scratching behind his ear when he glances at you, "I…that's actually why I called, Mom." You tell her, clearing your throat, "I uh, won't be coming home for Christmas this year." You hold your breath as she's silent on the other end and swallow the lump in your throat.

"_I'm sorry, sweetheart, I don't understand_?"

You wince at the confused and hurt tone and run your free hand over your face, holding your bangs back, "I know. I'm so, so sorry, it's just…the team and I have this really tricky case and we haven't gotten anywhere." You lie, closing your eyes tightly as you shake your head at yourself.

"_A case?_" she says slowly, "_Brittany, it's Christmas_." She pushes and you hear the soft Christmas music in the background turn off. "_Are you sure there is no way you can get someone else to take your place_?"

"Mom." You shake your head with furrowed brows, "I wouldn't ask someone else to forfeit their holiday. It's my _job_. A-and it's only this year; you'll have the rest of the family anyway."

"_Yes, but it won't be the same. You're my daughter_." She states firmly.

"Mom, we saw each other a few weeks ago. I'm still coming down in February."

"_No. No, if you can't come here then I'll come to you_."

"No!" you exclaim, wincing, "No. You can't do that. The rest of the family doesn't need to miss both of us. Please just…stay home and have fun. For the both of us."

"_I'm not happy, Brittany_."

"I know." You mumble, biting your bottom lip, "Did you get the gifts?"

She sighs heavily, "_I did_."

"Good."

"_This is the one and only time you will not be home for Christmas, am I making myself clear_?" she asks in that motherly tone and you faintly smile, looking at Chess and petting his head softly.

"Of course. I'll call you later. Love you."

"_Love you too, darling_."

You hang up and drop your phone into your lap, holding your cheeks as you stare down at Chess, watching him sleep for a few minutes. You scratch the back of your head and grab your cell, sending Kurt a text that you'll be at the party, before placing the device on the night table and reaching over, flicking the lights off.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Was this short? I don't know how many words...oh well. Some background behind Brittany and her family! Also, San and Britt getting more comfortable around each other eh ;) Openly flirting...hahaha so next chapter is Christmas and Kurt's 'Holiday Hangout' where you get some fun stuff with the "crew" and more cute Brittana; well I think it's cute. **

**-B**


	17. Chapter 18

**A/N: I am so glad you are all loving this story, it makes me really happy actually lol! So okay, you know how I said more of Santana's background in this chapter? So no, it's actually the next chapter, I PROMISE! I actually forgot I split the Christmas Party in half because it was a long ass chapter otherwise and I'm not that nice hehehe. So thank you for the reviews and follows and favorites and I'll see ya'll Wednesday.**

**...Well not see you but you know what I mean ;) Lates!**

**-B**

* * *

><p>December, 2014:<p>

You pull into the large parking lot outside Kurt's condo building and thank the heavens when you find an open spot not far from the entrance. You felt guilty since your conversation with your mother a few days ago and haven't been in the whole happy holiday's mood. You worked hard to not let it affect you at work and you're thankful the team didn't get a huge case, but a few of your friends seemed to notice you lack of cheer. Especially Kurt…and Quinn.

You snort and look to the passenger seat as you turn the vehicle off, shaking your head in faint amusement. You swear it was your destiny since birth to end up at this hospital and become friends with everyone in the crew. They were such great people, all different characters that had one thing in common. They were total kids at heart.

You grab Quinn's secret Santa gift with a chuckle, a bottle of Merlot wearing a traditional red bow around its neck and a nice infinity scarf seeing as she kept walking around holding her chin to her chest while outside.

You step out of the vehicle with the wrapped box and bottle, and push the door closed with your backside, making sure your coat didn't catch in the door before turning and heading up to the building. You press your arm closer to your body, keeping your clutch from falling from under your arm, and manage to knock at Kurt's door before looking over yourself.

"Ms. Pierce," he greets with a twinkle in his eye and an almost empty glass of wine, "So glad you made it."

"How many glasses have you had, Kurt?" you chuckle as you step inside the condo, smiling at Finn and Mike standing further back in the foyer when they smile and lift their beers to you in greeting.

"I want to say my third." He says and you hum skeptically, thanking him softly when he takes the gifts and your clutch, setting them on one of the coffee tables in his small foyer seating area. You slip your coat off after taking off your heeled boots and drape it onto the back of the fancy sofa the rest of the crew's jackets were on and take Quinn's gifts into your hands before turning to face Kurt.

"Damn, Brittany. I said this was casual." He chuckles and you frown looking down at your choice of outfit. Black skinny pants, a cream peplum top, a short red blazer with a crisp collar, and a long gold necklace.

"This is casual." You tell him, looking up. He lifts his brows and shakes his head, finishing his wine. "Fine, dressy casual." You give him and he just motions for you to head further into the place. You flip your hair over your shoulder and smile as the kitchen, dining room and living room come into view, with the stairs to the second floor to your left.

"Hey, guys. Merry Chr-Happy Holidays!" you begin and quickly correct yourself when Rachel looks over and narrows her eyes. "I come baring gifts." You joke, holding up the presents and hand them to Kurt when he holds his hands out. You watch him walk over and place them in front of his fireplace with the rest of the secret Santa presents before your eyes land on Santana lounging on the couch with her legs crossed, a half empty glass of wine in her hand with her phone in the other. You take note of her tight dark blue skinny jeans, fluffy black and white turtle neck, a long silver necklace holding a cute silver tree pendant at the end. And her hair was in full loose waves. She looked banging.

_Banging_, you question yourself with a frown, _do people even say that_?

"I believe the dress code was casual." Mercedes says quietly, sliding up beside you. You chuckle as does she and give her a hug. "Merry Christmas."

"Mercedes, not everyone-" Rachel begins with a huff.

"Oh can it, Rachel. I'll say what I want." She rolls her eyes and Rachel looks at her in shock but before she can continue to argue Quinn puts her hands on her shoulders and whispers something to her, gently pushing her in the direction of Santana, Sam, Noah, and Sebastian in the living room.

"Merry Christmas." Quinn whispers with a wink at you and Mercedes before she pulls you in a hug. You squeeze back and she pulls away, putting her hands on her hips. "I thought you were going home for Christmas?" she asks and Mercedes nods, lifting her glass to offer you a drink of your own.

"Oh, Please." You nod to Mercedes before answering Quinn, "I was but I'm taking time off in February anyway and I didn't want to leave in case something came up with the team." You tell them, and it's not a complete lie. They nod in understanding and Mercedes hands you a glass. "We're not having duck again are we?" you ask and Kurt snorts coming from behind you.

"Christmas is a time for Turkey and Ham, Britt. Besides, duck is a once a year type of thing." He says with a sigh, handing Mercedes his glass to refill. "Now," he says, facing you completely, "Please tell me you like games."

"I love games!" You smile widely and he tilts his head.

"Taboo?"

"Oh, I kick ass at Taboo." You nod with a sly grin and he links his arm with yours, leading you into the living room.

"I call Brittany for my team!" Kurt declares and you chuckle, shaking your head as you lift your glass to your lips.

"Perfect, I can kick both your asses." Santana says smoothly, lifting her eyes from her phone with a smug smirk, leaning forwards and putting her phone on the coffee table. You roll your eyes and plop yourself right beside the Latina, crossing your legs as you settle back into the couch after grabbing the Taboo buzzer, lifting a brow at her.

"Bring it, Lopez."

* * *

><p>You were on a roll. Well your team, Blue, was on a roll. You, Kurt, Quinn, Sebastian and Finn were kicking ass.<p>

Santana's team, Red, consisting of herself, Noah, Mike, Rachel, Mercedes, and Sam, were doing pretty well but no match for you. Well you were tied at the moment but about two minutes earlier you were leading by a ton of points. And they even had more people.

At the moment it was Kurt's turn to read the card with Rachel peering over his shoulder holding the buzzer right by his ear, staring unblinking at the card in his hands.

"Can you back up a bit, Rach?" Kurt asks, throwing an annoyed glance her way.

"What's wrong, Hummel?" Santana asks, brow arched, "If you were really as good as you believe you are there shouldn't be any problem with my girl up in your grill." She says, waving her hand in front of her.

"Thank you, Santana." Rachel smiles before putting her game face back on.

"Your girl?" Quinn questions in amusement, sitting on the other side of Mercedes seated next to Kurt.

"Oh she didn't tell you?" Santana smirks and Quinn rolls her eyes as you shake your head at their banter.

"Yeah, yeah, Lopez."

"Why do you think I picked her for my team?" she questions, "Because we rock together. In more ways than one." Quinn clenches her jaw and you stare at Santana in surprise as Rachel's cheeks blush, her mouth opening and closing in her own shock.

"Santana! I'm flatter but-"

"Calm your tits, Berry. I'm just getting in her head." She rolls her eyes and Quinn relaxes as Rachel rolls her eyes, looking back at the card. "It's called strategy."

"Bad mouthing isn't a strategy." You say and she looks at you, "People only use it when they're losing or know they're beaten. Much like you are now." You smile sweetly and Santana narrows her eyes at you. A round of ou's go around and Santana scowls as you laugh quietly.

"Hurry up and flip the timer." She tells Mercedes, leaning back in the couch with crossed arms.

You lean forwards, ready to add more points to the scoreboard, aka the pad in Mercedes's hands, and nod at Kurt when he glances at you.

"Okay, you take this with a tequila shot." He says.

"Lime!" Sebastian nods and Mercedes rolls her eyes while giving a tick.

"To take a selfie you need a?"

"Phone!"

"Camera." Quinn provides calmly, sending Santana a smile. You look at her and Santana just rolls her eyes.

"Bilingual means you can talk in a different?"

"Language."

"The little papers we give out at work."

"Scripts?" Finn suggests and Kurt nods, waving his hand.

"Whole word."

"Prescription!" you shout and he nods, taking another card.

"Better hurry…" Mercedes sings and you shoot her a harmless glare as Kurt stutters.

"Uhhh, oh! All eyes on me, in the center of the ring, just like a?" he asks, pointing at you.

"Circus!" you scream right before the sand runs out and you jump up, pointing at the timer before leaning forwards and slapping your hand against Kurt's. You high five Quinn and Sebastian as they do the same with each other before sinking back into the couch with a satisfied smile. "We're so good."

"Give me the damn cards." Mercedes mumbles, handing Quinn the timer and note pad, Kurt taking the buzzer from Rachel. "Boy, don't be leaning into me." She warns him when he does, and he holds his hands up in defense before leaning in again, making sure not to push against her. "Alright then. Let's get this over with. Satan, Rachel, _focus_." She says firmly, doing the 'I'm watching you' motion to them both as they shift to the edges of their seats.

"Uh, hello, we're here too." Noah says and Santana holds her hand out to shut him up. He throws his hands up before crossing his arms with a huff, Mike and Sam continuing to busy themselves with their phones.

"And…go." Quinn says.

"Satan, you claim Kurt has what coming out of his ass?"

"Rainbows." You glance at Kurt, the boy rolling his eyes at Santana, and smile in amusement.

"What does Alvin want for Christmas?"

"Hula Hoop!"

"Hoop, but go ahead." Quinn says and Mercedes rolls her eyes while tossing the card.

"Brittany's blazer is?"

"Scarlet!" Rachel exclaims and Mercedes goes to toss the card before doing a double take at her and arching a pointed brow.

"Red, hurry up." Santana orders.

"Oh, Sam!" Mercedes shouts for his attention and he startles, straightening in his spot with wide eyes. "You told me some nonsense about an Anthropology class and said this was a portable find?"

"Artifact?"

"How the hell…" Sebastian begins.

"Mhm!" she grins, tossing the card. You look at Sam, looking very happy with himself, and look back at Mercedes. "Blaine used to do this, badly, when he got drunk."

"Who's Blaine?"

"Piano!" Rachel shouts quickly.

Santana nods before adding for your sake, "Kurt's annoying asshole of an ex." You purse your lips and nod slowly.

"Satan, you can't do this no matter how hard you try."

"Refrain from insulting all you idiots." She smirks before chuckling and crossing her legs, "Chill, I'm kidding. Whistle."

"Time!" your entire team calls as Rachel brushes off her shoulders with a pleased grin.

"Oh, and I believe that is five points, keeping it tied up." Noah grins and Quinn scoffs.

"Puck, you didn't answer once."

"Whatever, my team's still going to win."

"My team." Santana corrects. "So, tie breaker."

"Choose one player from each team to go head to head, and we have someone read the questions out to you."

"Santana." The red team, all but Rachel choose. Rachel clamps her mouth shut, holding back from arguing, and huffs as Santana grins smugly, looking at Brittany.

"Britt, you want to go against her?" Kurt asks and you shrug. "Good. Mike, you're neutral so you be the host." He says and Mike nods, taking the cards from Kurt along with the pad. "Ten cards, whoever answers first gets the point. One with the most when the ten cards are finished, claims the win with their team."

"Okay." You nod as you switch places with Mike so he's between you and Santana. You two sit on the edge of the couch, looking at each other as Mike shuffles the cards, picking on up.

"Alright. Genie from Aladdin." He says and you beam.

"Robin Williams."

"Not a thesaurus." He says next.

"Dictionary." Santana says quickly and you close your mouth with narrowed eyes as she smirks.

"A genre consisting of magical creatures like fairies."

"Fantasy." Santana slips in before you and you pull your head back in surprise. "Shut up."

"A groom wears this."

"Tux!" you say and he looks at you, "Tuxedo." You roll your eyes with a smile.

"More than a giggle or a chuckle."

"Laugh." You smirk at Santana and she huffs.

"You get jaundice when this-"

"Liver!" you and Santana both shut quickly and stare at each other in shock. You smile faintly and her lips twitch upwards.

"Okay, skip that one then." Mike says, tossing the card and picking a new one, "Gay not…"

"Straight." Santana says and you scowl.

"When something internal is wrong patients have to undergo?"

"Surgery." She says and you widen your eyes.

"Brittany's first case, the patient had a quinine?"

"Allergy." You say quickly, jumping at how close it was. You can't let her win or she would hold it over you forever.

"Tomorrow is?"

"Christmas!" Santana says with a growing smile.

"Brittany!" Quinn shouts and you send her a sharp 'shut up' glare.

"They're the modern stone age family." Mike say and you and Santana both look at him with an arched brow.

"What?" you ask as Santana shakes her head at him.

"What?" Mike asks innocently, "That's the only way you'd get it. You know? From the town of bedrock? It's a yabba dabba doo time..." he sings and you furrow your brows as Santana slaps her thigh.

"Flinstones!"

"No!" Kurt and Quinn exclaim as Rachel screams in victory. You pout, watching Santana as she stands up slowly, making a show as she curtsey's, sending you a wink before high fiving Mercedes and tensing when Rachel hugs her tightly.

"In your face!" Rachel shouts, pointing at Kurt and Quinn before you. Santana places her hand flat against Rachel's forehead and gives a swift push, sending her a few steps back before she brushes off a fluff.

"Now, now," Santana says with a smile, "Everyone calm down. No need to go at each other's throats." She says as you slump into the couch with a frown. "Besides. Brittany is the real loser here."

You scowl at her and she just smiles widely, her dimple showing, making your heart melt while she clasps her hands in front of her and lets out a content sigh.

"I'm hungry." She states, looking at Kurt and he rolls his eyes, turning and heading to the kitchen.

"I couldn't find my holiday table runner so we're all dishing up our food and eating in the living room." He calls and you all jump up, following after him quickly.

* * *

><p>You groan after finishing everything on your plate and lean back in the couch, resting your head against the back of the couch, closing your eyes.<p>

You hear a few chuckle and crack and eye open, smiling sheepishly as Mike, Sam, Rachel, and Quinn shake their heads in amusement with smiles. You look at the rest of the group and see them smiling while continuing to eat and glance at Santana last, putting a piece of turkey in her mouth and chewing.

You smile and she pauses her action, glancing at you with her cheeks puffed out a bit, eyes wide.

"What?" she asks slowly and you chuckle, poking her cheek gently and quickly. She narrows her eyes.

"You look like a chipmunk." You tell her and she rolls her eyes, holding back a smile, and swallows.

"And you look like a walrus." She says.

You drop your jaw and she chuckles, leaning away from you when you lightly smack her arm. "Hey! I'm eating here!" she laughs and you stick your tongue out. She scoffs with an eye roll, looking back at her plate before glancing back at you and sticking her tongue out childishly.

You snort a laugh and she gives a small smile before you both look away from each other, freezing at everyone staring at you in surprise; minus Quinn and Kurt smiling knowingly.

You and Santana exchange glances before clearing your throat and busying yourselves with something.

You put your plate down and cross your legs, starting a conversation with Mike about his latest clinic hours, if there was any amusing stories he had to share, while Santana goes back to eating her food, never taking her eyes off the plate.

A good twenty minutes later everyone was finished and putting their dishes away when an arm drapes over your shoulder. You look to the side and give Sam a confused smile when he grins.

"I can deal with your plate, Brittany." He offers and you glance at Quinn talking with Sebastian, and she rolls her eyes at Sam.

"Hey, Fish Lips, mind moving out of my way?" Santana sasses from behind you. You look at her and she stares at Sam, motioning for him to move with her hands full of plates.

"Uh, yeah, sorry." He says awkwardly and pulls his arm back, scratching the back of his head as he leaves.

"Thanks." You say quietly when Santana steps closer, waiting for the dishwasher.

She arches a brow, "For?"

"Sam. He's been really persistent lately." You shrug and she hums.

"Tell him to fuck off. I'm sure he'd leave you alone after that." She grins and you chuckle, nodding.

"I couldn't do that."

"Right, you're too nice. I'll do it." She shrugs and you smile, "Because nothing would please me more than to watch him walk off with his tail between his legs." She adds pointedly and you nod skeptically. She sighs dramatically and puts the plates on the counter, beginning to load the dishes that everyone left on the counter. "Here." She holds her hand out for your dishes and you hand them over with a kind smile before Mercedes is dragging you off.

"How did I not see it before?" she asks, mostly to herself, as you groan and hold your hands over your face. "You're totally into her aren't you?" she asks with a growing smile and you cross your arms. She squeals quietly and you shake your head in faint amusement.

"Why do you all get so excited about this?"

"All? Who else knows?"

"Quinn and Kurt." You mumble and she nods, accepting my answer.

"And to answer your question, because we're all friends and so when two people in our crew like each other obviously it's a big deal. Plus Santana is like never this tamed. The amount of times she's insulted one of us since you got here has decreased drastically. Also we've never met anyone she was with."

You shake your head, holding your hands out, "Whoa, we-we are not together." You tell her and she shrugs.

"Okay, but you like her and I think she likes you. I've never seen her like this. Especially with a girl."

"Don't say that!" you whine and Mercedes frowns in confusion, "My hopes are just going to go up only for me to be crushed when it turns out she doesn't feel the same way." You explain and she laughs.

"Girl." Is all she says before going back to the group. You just stare after her and blink.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Do you know how much I laughed while writing this bit? I literally laughed so hard writing the Taboo scene, like all out silent hollering, clapping like a seal laugh. Like come on "Satan, you claim Kurt has what coming out of his ass?" and Rachel screaming "Scarlet!" That is gold. Like really. Don't judge. Lol, but yeah, damn, so funny. You must've at least smiled. So let...meh...know, peace!**

**-B**


	18. Chapter 19

**A/N: Hey loves! Side note, don't know why I've been saying loves so much, for like months...interesting. same with lates, and cheers. very weird. But Anyway! So glad you all liked the last chapter and here FINALLY you learn more of Santana. This is one of my favorite chapters because the amount of Brittana and the fricken cuteness is like unbelievable. A few may get their wish but eh, have to read to find out. To the story!**

**-B**

* * *

><p>December, 2014:<p>

"Mercedes just told me you told her." Kurt says happily.

You hum, swallowing your glass of wine as you lean against the kitchen counter, "I didn't tell her. She figured it out. I thought I was being subtle about it but obviously I need to change my tactics." You tell him and he chuckles. It's then that you notice he's wearing a scarf and his jacket unbuttoned. "Where are you going?"

"We are going caroling." He shimmies and you scrunch your nose.

"I'm more of a dancer."

"Well you're party of our family now and this family is talented as hell." He says with a shrug.

"So modest." You chuckle and he shrugs.

"Half of us were in high school Glee clubs. Even Noah. Mike's a dancer too but he still sings sometimes." Kurt says, "So no excuses. Get your jacket and be ready to sing like never before."

You sigh dramatically and he rolls his eyes with a smile, taking your glass of wine and putting it down as you head for your jacket.

You see Finn, Sebastian, and Rachel putting their jackets and accessories on and give them smiles as you grab your own jacket.

"So you're all into this caroling thing?" you ask and Rachel beams.

"Singing is a way of life, Brittany."

"What?" you scrunch your nose in confusion and both Sebastian and Finn shake their heads behind the smaller girl, mouthing for you to 'just go with it'.

"Kurt and I have tried to convince everyone to form a Glee Club."

"A glee club…" you repeat, "Of like…thirty and forty year olds."

"Yes, why not?" she smiles and you glance back at Finn and Sebastian just shaking their heads.

"No, nothing. Good luck with…that." You say, slipping your jacket on and pull your mitts and scarf from your pockets, putting them on.

"It would be nice but with our schedules singing carols is enough. Nice little tradition." She nods, "Although, we do have a name." she whispers secretively with a wide smile. You lift your brows slightly, with a small smile. "New Directions." She says and you hum, nodding slowly.

"Okay, everybody out!" Kurt calls, opening his front door and motioning everyone out.

"Thank god." You mumble under your breath and get a clap on the shoulder from Finn.

You transfer your phone from your clutch into your pocket of your jacket and stick both hands in your pockets as you step out of the condo, Kurt closing and locking the door behind everyone. He then turns and smiles widely, rubbing his leather glove covered hands together.

You walk behind everyone, Finn the closest to you, and tilt your head with a fond smile as you watch Santana slip between Rachel and Quinn, bumping the blonde with her hip. Quinn stumbles and Rachel quickly moves, grabbing her girlfriend to keep her upright as Santana laughs, quickening her pace to fall beside Mercedes.

The eleven of you stop at the first house in the cul-de-sac Kurt led you to and you watch as they all relax. You step forwards, stopping between Finn and Mike and look at them in surprise when all the men start the do, do, do's in the beginning of 'Silver Bells'. In perfect harmony, you might add.

Finn begins the chorus with the other boys in background and Rachel starts the first verse.

You just stand there, watching and listening with an awed look at the group sings together like they'd been doing it all their life.

The lights of the house's front porch turn on and an elderly couple poke their heads out, smiling widely, obviously recognizing the group, and step out, listening with soft smiles.

You, well they, sing another song for the couple before they say goodbye and you all head a street over.

You stop in another cul-de-sac and Mike nudges your arm with his elbow, smiling as he tells you to 'watch this'. You look at him in confusion, following the group to stand on the little island in the middle of the cul-de-sac and Rachel steps forwards, turning and putting people in positions.

"Brittany, this is where it gets real. I'm sure you know this song, just join in whenever." She says with an encouraging smile and you nod slowly, "Okay, you stand in front of the Finn; beside Santana." She says and you move, sighing when you get to your spot.

Santana glances at you, and you share an amused eye roll at Rachel's behavior, facing her when she claps her hands and holds them up like a conductor.

"On three. Sebastian, one count after we begin." She says and you all nod. "One, two, three…"

"Christmas!" they all sing and you jump in surprise, Santana chuckling silently beside you at your reaction.

"The snow's coming down!" Sebastian sings.

"Christmas!" everyone sings again.

"I'm watching it fall…" he continues.

"Christmas!"

"Lots of people around…"

"Christmas!"

"Baby, please come home!" he gives it his all as you sing the 'Christmas!' quietly in the group of enthusiastic carolers. You continue in your part, Sebastian sharing lines with Mercedes. You lift your head and widen your eyes as almost every front door in the cul-de-sac was open, crowded with families standing and enjoying the show.

You do a double take when a raspy, beautiful voice catches your ear, and look at Santana in complete and utter awe, her cheeks and nose tinted pink from the cold and eyes squinted at the corners as she sang a few lines on her own.

"They're singing deck the halls. But it's not like Christmas at all…" she sings, "I remember when you were here. All the fun we had last year!" You watch her, amazed with her voice, despite how little of it was showcased just now, as Sebastian takes over once again.

Your eyes trace her features as you regard her softly and she ducks her head a bit before looking at you. You smile gently and she slowly smiles herself. You're smile widens before you feel your phone vibrate in your pocket and Santana's smile falters and her brows furrow in concern when you pull it out and frown, reading 'Missed Call: Mom'.

* * *

><p>Apparently there were three entire cul-de-sacs around Kurt's condo who seemed to look forward to the 'New Directions' singing for them every year, and you were on your way to the second one. After singing 'Christmas (Baby, please come home)', you sang 'All I Want For Christmas Is You', 'Jingle Bells', and Rocking Around the Christmas Tree'. The traditional playlist. You rolled your eyes when Rachel told you that.<p>

Now though, as you follow the group to the second destination, you look down at your phone and slow your strides, glancing up and back down, dialing your mother's number.

"_Hello_?"

"Hey, Mom." You smile faintly, looking up as you cross your one arm around yourself, watching everyone move further from you. "Merry Christmas Eve."

"_Merry Christmas Eve, honey_." She chuckles, "_How's the hospital on Christmas Eve_?"

"It good." You mumble, looking to the side. "So you called."

"_Yes, yes, I know, you're working_." She hushes, "_I just wanted to talk to you tonight, wish you well_."

"Mom, we'll be talking tomorrow." You chuckle, looking towards the group as they turn onto a street. You quicken your strides a bit, keeping some distance between you and them, and Santana laughs at Quinn after pushing her into a snow bank. You smile fondly and she claps her hands, howling with laughter as Quinn struggles to pull herself from the snow. She jumps back when Quinn does get up, and runs around Finn before Rachel grabs Quinn, calming her down.

Santana brushes her hair from her face and turns her head, tilting it at you, probably wondering why you're so far away, and closes her eyes when a snowball hits the side of her face.

You giggle as she wipes the snow away and only then remember you're on the phone when your mother calls your name for the umpteenth time.

"_Brittany_?" she calls and you blink repeatedly, shaking your head.

"Sorry."

"_No, I'm sorry. You must be being called to work. I'll let you go_." She says and you feel a pang of guilt in your stomach, "_We'll talk tomorrow. Love you, darling. Don't work too hard_."

"Okay, love you too, Mom." You say and wait for her to hang up before sighing and pocketing your phone.

God you were a terrible person.

* * *

><p>You rejoin the group and Kurt catches your eye, silently asking if something was wrong.<p>

You force a smile and he tilts his head with an arch brow, calling your bullshit, and you smile faintly for real at him for knowing. He detaches himself from Sebastian and waits for you as the group continues down the street.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just not feeling that great." You tell him and he frowns.

"Like, sick?"

"No, no, just, I don't know. Maybe."

"Okay, I'll tell Rachel and we'll go-"

"No." you shake your head quickly, "Kurt, you guys love caroling. You only get to do it once a year and I don't want to take that away from you."

"Yeah but I don't want to drag you along when you're not feeling up to it." He says with a sympathetic frown.

"It's fine. I'll just head back and wait for you guys there." You shrug and he starts to protest, shaking his head. "Kurt, its fine. Seriously."

"Fine." He says after a beat and you smile. "We'll cut the playlist short and be back in forty minutes, hour tops." He says and you nod, giving him a hug. "Be careful."

"I will." You nod and watch him turn back for the group before turning around yourself and heading back to his condo.

* * *

><p>You bring your shoulders closer to your ears at a gust of wind and shiver faintly as your feet carry you down the route to Kurt's condo building.<p>

You felt so guilty and horrible for lying to your mom. It was selfish of you to think of yourself and not consider how you not being there would affect everyone else in the family.

You shake your head, disappointed in yourself, when you hear footsteps coming up behind you with a quickened pace. You freeze with wide eyes and glance over your shoulder, relaxing when you see Santana, hands in jacket pockets, jogging up to you.

"What are you doing?" you ask and she snorts, falling beside you.

"What are _you_ doing, more like it." She counters, nose and cheeks red from the cold. "It's fucking freezing out here."

"It's winter." You state and she gives you a pointed look.

"Anyway, why'd you leave?"

"Not in the caroling mood." You shrug. "Why'd you leave?"

"Because, dumbass, Kurt didn't give you the keys to his place. You'd be stuck out in the hall." She says, pulling a hand from her pockets, showing you keys.

"Kurt gave you his keys?"

"Please, I have my own copy." She smirks and you smile, nodding as you look at the ground ahead of you while walking. "So, what's the real reason you dipped?" she asks.

"Why?" you chuckle, kicking an ice piece.

"I'm curious, and I know it's not because you're not in the caroling mood." She states, pulling at her scarf to cover more of her face.

You hum and the two of you continue walking for a few minutes before you sigh, "I feel guilty, and I'm not going to enjoy caroling with you guys if my head is somewhere else and I feel terrible." You tell her.

"Why do you feel guilty?"

You hesitate before telling her, "I told my mom I had to work so that I didn't have to go home for Christmas." You admit quietly, taking a moment before glancing at her for her reaction.

She just nods slowly, keeping her gaze forward. "You're not going to say anything?" you ask and she shrugs, looking at you.

"Do you want me to?"

"Well…" you begin, and close your mouth with furrowed brows, "I don't know. Shouldn't you have an opinion?" you ask, looking at her eyes.

"Look, I'm sure you have a reason for wanting to stay here instead of heading home. Even if it's simply, you don't want to go. It doesn't have a primary effect on me so who am I to judge?" she shrugs, her eyes flicking between yours. "Though if you don't mind me asking, why didn't you want to go?"

"It's…" you sigh, brushing your hair over your shoulder, "Every year it's the same." You say quietly, "My dad…my dad died twelve years ago and Christmas was his favorite holiday. We had certain traditions we'd do together as a family and now that he's gone…we just keep doing them and it's hard you know? Continuing with traditions when the person you started them with is gone." You finish in a whisper, sucking on your bottom lip as you furrow your brows, trying to keep your eyes from filling with tears. "I just don't think that I'd be able to hold it together if I was there. Each year it built up and got harder."

"I'm sorry." She says softly and you look at her, wearing a look of genuine sympathy and concern. You nod and clear your throat. "So you were close."

"He was my best friend." You smile faintly, looking from the ground to Santana again. She smiles faintly and nods, lifting her shoulders and dropping them with a sigh. "What about you? Are you close with your dad? Your mom?"

Santana stiffens and you chew your lip nervously, wondering if you crossed a line, although, you mean, she started the whole family thing.

"I was." She finally says, albeit quietly, narrowing her eyes as she stares ahead of her. "They died in an accident when I was eleven." She says and your heart breaks.

"Oh my god, Santana. I'm so sorry." You say sincerely.

She glances at you and offers a small smile and a nod, "It was a long time ago."

"It still happened. You shouldn't have been put through that."

"It wasn't all bad. I mean, of course I was heartbroken and terrified, but I had Juan, my brother, and then our Tia took us in. I got really close with Puck and my Tia became my second mom." She sighs with a faint smile, remembering. "I don't have many memories about my parents, they worked a lot, but there are a few that stick out and that I'll always remember." Her smile grows faintly and she lets out a little chuckle, glancing at you.

"I remember I was like eight or something and I was supposed to go to my first sleepover but I got the fricken chicken pox so of course I had to stay home. I was like, completely distraught and so my mom took me out to get that pink cream and when we got home my dad had the mattress from our guest room on the living room floor made up with a bunch of pillows and blankets. We made popcorn and milkshakes and watched Dumbo and Alice in Wonderland…They taped oven mitts to my hands so I wouldn't scratch and my dad had my mom do the same to him before we pretended we were robots sent to bring Juan to our lab." She laughs and you smile softly, watching her eyes twinkle at the memory.

She clears her throat and shakes her head, "That was the first and last time we did that but it meant a lot that it happened in the first place. Things kind of went downhill from there, in the spending time together category but I know how difficult it must've been. They were my age with busy jobs like mine and had two kids at home. I sure as hell know I wouldn't be able to handle it. Then the accident and Juan and I went to Chicago to live with Puck and Tia. So…It wasn't an ideal childhood but in the end I'm okay with that." She says, looking at you before she nods up ahead when the condo building comes into view and you smile, following her to the building.

* * *

><p>"Do you want coffee?" she asks and you lift your head from resting it on your folded arms on the kitchen island. "I can make hot chocolate if you want?" she offers and you smile sweetly.<p>

"Either is fine." You say and she eyes you before shaking her head with a smile.

"So hot chocolate?"

"Yes, please." You chuckle and she turns to put the kettle on before putting on a pot of coffee. "So Juan?"

Santana grins and turns around, leaning back against the counter, "My kid brother." She nods, "Okay, he's twenty-seven." She shrugs and grabs a mug, scooping two spoonfuls of cocoa in the cup before pouring the boiled water in it. "And he's an accountant."

"Ah," you nod slowly with a chuckle. Santana hands you the drink, opening Kurt's pantry to retrieve marshmallows. You straighten with a smile and she chuckles, pouring some in to fill the top of the drink before popping one into her mouth. You snatch another from the bag and lift it. Santana arches a brow and you nod at her before tossing it. She catches it like a pro and winks before putting them away.

You blow on your drink as Santana gets her coffee, and she leans against the island across from you. You hold her gaze as you both take a sip of your drinks and smile bashfully as you duck your head.

You look back up and watch Santana as she stares at her coffee, tapping the side of the cup thoughtfully. As if feeling your gaze she glances up and clears her throat.

"I'll be right back." She says before heading to the living room. You take another long sip of your hot cocoa when Santana comes back into the kitchen holding a small rectangular present wrapped in shiny red Christmas paper with a white bow on top. You eye it carefully and Santana puts it on the counter, sliding it to you. "From your secret Santa." She says with a playful eye roll.

"You're my secret Santa?" you ask with a smile and she shrugs. You put your cup aside and take the gift, smiling at its perfect wrapping before opening it. You turn the book over and smile when you read the title.

"When the team was at your place I saw all the mystery books you had and then I saw this and remembered you had the first one. I don't know if you actually liked the first one but-"

"I did." You cut her off and she lets out a breath, "I haven't been able to find this in the stupid bookstore. I've tried." You tell her, looking over the book and smile up at her. "Thank you." You say sweetly and she swallows before nodding.

"You're welcome."

"Now I wish I was your secret Santa so I could give something to you." You pout and she chuckles. You put the book down and smile at it as you grab you cup when Santana leans away from the counter.

"Do you want to actually sit in the living room?" she asks with a laugh and you nod, getting up and lead her out.

"Oh!" you say quickly and turn around, forgetting your book, and bump into Santana right behind you. "Shit, sorry." You say, checking to make sure you didn't spill on yourself or her and she shakes her head, waving it off.

"It's fine." She smiles, glancing over herself once again.

You nod, glancing around and widen your eyes, a blush creeping across your cheeks. "Yeah, no spill." She says and looks up at you. You blink and avert your gaze from where it was, and Santana eyes you with an amused look. "What?" she asks, looking up and you look away. "You've got to be kidding me." She says quietly and you clear your throat, pulling her attention from the mistletoe. She looks at you and your blush deepens. Her eyes soften and your heart beat quickens as she glances at your lips, wetting her own.

You tighten your hold on your cocoa as Santana steps closer, lifting her hand to the nape of your neck, and pulls you head down, pressing her lips softly against yours.

You return the kiss immediately and slip your tongue into her mouth when she parts her lips for that specific reason. You inhale through your nose, moving one hand from your cup to her waist, and pull her closer.

You break the kiss for air and feel Santana panting faintly against your lips as you both flutter your eyes open. You instantly blush as she looks from your lips to your eyes before you hear Mercedes's loud laugh outside and you separate, averting your eyes from each other. You go back into the kitchen and grab your book, holding it in your lap as Santana goes to open the door for everyone, and let out a breath.

* * *

><p>You were all standing in Kurt's foyer sitting area, around his grand piano, Noah sitting on the bench with Rachel beside him. You were standing at the end directly across from them and Santana was standing to Noah's right, between him and Sebastian.<p>

When the group came back you all sat down for secret Santa and played another, more relaxed game with wine before Noah suggested moving to the piano to end the night.

And so here you are. Listening to Noah play a beautiful tune, softly, your eyes closed as you listen. It comes to an end and you open your eyes.

"Lopez, you're up." Noah says and you lift a brow, looking at her as she shakes her head 'no'. "Yes, you're doing it." He says.

"I do it all the time." She argues and he nods.

"This is the first Christmas with Brittany here. You have to sing it." He says and she stops from protesting and glances at you. You smile faintly and she sighs heavily making everyone smile happily. "Okay." Noah nods before starting to play.

"Silent night…holy night. All is calm, all is bright," she starts and you relax immediately, the sound of her voice as soothing as the touch of a mother to her child. "Holy infant…so tender! And mild! Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep, sleep in heavenly peace…" she sings, eyes closed and head tilted.

Noah nods and picks up the pace a bit as Santana starts the second verse.

You can't help but stare. You can tell how much passion she's putting into the song and it just made it even more beautiful to witness. You smile as she lifts her hands to her chest a little, totally getting right into it, and wet your lips, holding the bottom between your lips as she shakes her head slowly, with a note.

"Oh, Jesus, lord at thy birth. Oooou. Jesus, lord at thy birth. Oooohhhh. Sleep in heavenly peace…" she sings, her eyes opening slowly as they lock with yours, "Oooh, sleep…in heavenly peace…" she finishes slowly and you basically swoon, blushing and lifting a glass of wine to you lips to try and hide it as she smiles softly.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So let meh know what ya thought. Was there enough cuteness? You need more? Less? pfft who am I kidding. So there you got some of Santana's background story, a very important part. So yes. Hands up for who would completely swoon and most likely die if Santana/Naya sang Silent Night for you. *Throws hand up* Until Sunday, loves! Lates!**

**-B**


	19. Chapter 20

**A/N: So I forgot that you guys actually read the pt. 2 of the christmas party and almost posted that again. That would've been embarrassing. But whatever, this chapter was fun to write too, muahaha. Hope you guys like this one!**

**-B**

* * *

><p>December, 2014January, 2015:

"Whoa!" you laugh, grabbing Quinn's arm to keep her steady right after she slips on some ice on the sidewalk.

"Jesus…" she breathes, gripping your arm tightly with her other hand, and she shakes her head as she lifts her gaze to yours. "Does this damn city not salt the fucking sidewalks?" she asks in annoyance and Santana snorts a laugh from behind you two as she walks with Kurt and Sebastian, Noah, Finn, and Sam behind them.

"I said it before, and I'm going to say it again," Santana says, leaning forwards as she walks, her head between you and Quinn, "I am not looking after her drunk ass tonight."

"My best friend, everybody." Quinn rolls her eyes and Santana scoffs, leaning back.

"It's fucking New Years Eve, Q. I'm getting hammered and having fun."

"And your idea of fun isn't taking care of your friend?" you ask her, glancing over your shoulder. Santana scrunches her nose and shakes her head.

"Absolutely not."

You shrug and the group comes to a stop in front of 'The Den' a new lounge a few blocks from your place, where you all walked from.

"Santana, you are terrible." Quinn mumbles as you open the door, smiling at the big bouncer waiting inside, "Rachel is with her dads tonight and you're not even going to look after me?"

"Hey, your problems regarding the hobbit are none of my concern. Besides, when you're drunk you get vicious." She says after you hand the bouncer all eight of your tickets. He nods and lets you all in.

"That is so true." Noah pipes in and you chuckle, looking at Quinn. She shrugs and you let go of her, making your way to a surprisingly open booth a decent distance from the bar and the billiards table.

So it was New Years! And the crew was together again; all but Mike who met this girl Tina through his parents and decided to spend the night with her and her friends, and Rachel, who was, as Quinn said, spending the holiday with her parents and their family having a big ol' party, to which Quinn was not invited. Apparently Rachel's dad are not fans of the oncologist. Mercedes left for home Christmas morning and was going to be spending the remainder of her holiday with family in Florida.

You still feel a little guilt for not going home but after talking and spending time with Santana on Christmas Eve, you decided to cut yourself some slack, and that she was right. You should be able to enjoy the holiday any way you pleased.

Noah grabs your hips and lifts you away from the booth when you got to slide in and you squeal and look at him in surprise as he grins and slide in to get the middle spot.

"Seriously?" you ask him and he laughs, holding his hands up. You shake your head, looking at the rest as they come over and gesture to the table. "Anyone else because I really don't care where I sit as long as I get to sit." You say and they chuckle, sliding in; Santana the only one to let you go before her. You blush faintly and sit down, moving over for her and she slides in.

You watch her subtly as she runs a hand through her hair, unzipping her leather jacket, and wet your lips, looking at Finn when he drums his hands on the table.

"I'll grab the drinks." He says while getting up, "Two rounds of shots first?" he asks knowingly and everyone whoop's and nods in agreement. He motions for Sam to help out and they both go to the bar.

"So, are you all on a mission to find a New Years kiss?" Kurt asks with a smile, Sebastian shaking his head with a smile at the other gay.

"Well duh." Noah chuckles as Santana says 'obviously' and Quinn rolls her eyes.

"Brittany, what about you?" he asks with a sparkle in his eye and you narrow your eyes at him with a tight smile.

"Not particularly but whatever happens, happens." You say as Sam and Finn come back, placing the two trays of shots on the table.

"What are we talking about?" Sam asks, smiling at you and you inwardly groan.

"Nothing that concerns you, Evans." Santana states, reaching and grabbing her shots. Sam furrows his brows and Santana arches one of her, holding a shot up. "Are we doing this or what?" she asks as everyone looks at her curiously.

You clear your throat and grab a shot, shrugging at Quinn and Kurt. They grab theirs and everyone else does the same, lifting them up and clinking them all together before throwing them back.

* * *

><p>An hour in and everyone was already split up.<p>

Finn, Sam, and Sebastian were playing billiards with three other guys, each holding either whiskey, scotch, or beer.

Santana and Noah were throwing darts and drinking beer.

You, Quinn, and Kurt were sitting at the booth, drinking martinis and watching everyone else. Okay, you were watching Santana and how much fun she was having with her cousin, throwing pointy sticks at a circle board.

You lift your martini to your lips, taking a sip, and swallow, smiling fondly when Santana punches Noah's shoulder before shaking her head and drinking her beer with a wide smile. Noah laughs and retrieves the darts from the board and you sigh contently as the Latina rolls her eyes fondly at the man.

"Britt, I love you, but you look beyond pathetic right now." Quinn says and you frown, lifting your chin from your hand to look at her.

You arch a brow and purse your lips, "I love you too, but that's coming from you?" you counter, nodding at the three empty martini glasses sitting on the table in front of her. She huffs and nods in acceptance before Kurt groans.

"God, you two are bringing me down." He states.

"It's easy for you to say." you mumble, "You actually have someone."

"Yeah, and he's here." Quinn adds in.

"Oh please. Quinn you're going to see Rachel in a few hours, and Brittany, there is no reason you are here instead of over with Santana, moving Operation Brain forwards to get Santana to be your girlfriend."

You sigh and shrug, "I don't even know if I want her to be my girlfriend." You admit quietly and they both look at you in disbelief. "I mean, I want to spend time with her. You know? Have her stay over, or stay over at her place. Act all silly and have food fights that end with us feeding each other berries or waffles. Cuddle and drink wine on the couch at night…then the physical stuff." You smile dreamily, your eyes once again glued to Santana as she slips her jacket off and drapes it over Noah's jacket on a chair. "God, she's so sexy." You breathe as she lets a dart fly and you lick your lips, eyeing her toned arms.

"Oh, Britt, you're drooling!" Kurt shrieks and you flinch when he wipes your chin.

"What are you doing?" you ask him with a scrunched nose.

He shakes his head and holds his hands up, "That's it. Go and talk to her. And take Quinn with you."

"No." Quinn says stubbornly and he rolls his eyes.

"Fine, whatever, but, Brittany, go." He says firmly, pointing to Santana and you look back at her as she stands near the bar watching the boys play at the billiards table, holding her beer in her hand. You groan and get up, straightening your back as you walk over.

Santana does a double take as you get closer and you smile, flinching and jumping back when you hear a loud _crack_. You look wide eyed at the table, the colored and numbered balls rolling around, and send Sam a hard look.

"Sorry." He winces and you huff and continue to Santana now sporting an amused smile.

"Hey." You breathe with a smile as you stop and stand beside her. Santana chuckles and runs her hand through her hair, removing her bangs from her face.

"Hey." She nods and you copy her movement. You stare at each other and Santana squints with a tilt of her head, her lips slowly turning into an amused smile once again. You blush and chuckle quietly in embarrassment, looking at your drink. "Hummel and Fabray throw you from the booth?" she asks and you shrug, lifting your head.

"You could say that." You nod, "But, Quinn was whining about Rachel and I was…getting annoyed." You save yourself and Santana hums.

"Yeah, see. And you people wanted me to look after her? Ha, no." she shakes her head with a grin, taking a gulp of beer.

You nod and wet your lips, looking around so you don't continue to stare at her and clear your throat, "So…you're looking for someone to, you know, after the countdown?" you ask lamely, looking back at her slowly as her eyes dance over your face, studying.

"Everyone is." She says simply and you hum, glancing at your drink. "Aren't you?"

"I'm not desperate for it but if the opportunity presents itself I'm not opposed." You tell her and she nods slowly.

"I get the feeling there's some hidden meaning to that." She smirks faintly and you open your mouth, blushing.

"W-what? N-no, no, of course not."

"If you want me to be your kiss you just have to ask, Pierce." She teases and your cheeks darken in color, only pushing Santana further. "It's not like it hasn't happened before." She shrugs and you close your eyes, shaking your head.

"No, yeah…yeah, you're right but I mean, I didn't come over to ask you to…be that."

"Alright."

"Lopez, you in?" Noah asks, motioning to the pool table.

Santana lets out a breath and glances at you before shaking her head at Noah, "I'm good." She says and your tummy flips while you smile bashfully. "Scotch?" she asks you and you look at your empty martini glass before nodding.

"Sure."

"Awesome." She hints a smile and turns around, calling over the bartender.

* * *

><p>It had been over an hour of hanging out with Santana at the bar. You told funny stories of when the two of you were younger, discussed Duke, and…there was a bit of flirting. Well you're pretty sure she was flirting. Maybe she was just teasing and playing around or maybe it was legit flirting.<p>

Either way she had you holding your breath, shifting in your seat, and biting your lip to keep from whimpering or kissing her.

You were now talking about how she got in a fight during med school because some punk was trying to cheat his was through a lab exam.

"He thought I couldn't see his beady eyes glancing at my paper but I fucking saw him." She scoffs, turning her head to look at you, "And you know what happened after the exam?"

"I'm going to guess you kicked his ass?"

"No." she laughs, "I just met with one of the guys I knew to get dirt on him and he became my bitch for the rest of the year, before transferring of course." She smirks and you drop your mouth open in shock.

"Santana!" you laugh and she shrugs with a proud smile.

"You don't try to cheat off Santana Lopez and get away with it." She states, finishing her third glass of scotch. You watch her lower the glass to the bar and look at her eyes, glossy.

"So…what about previous relationships?" you ask hesitantly and Santana just wets her lips while looking at you with a knowing smile.

She clears her throat and leans forwards, her right arm on the counter as her left hand is gently placed on your bare thigh, causing your breath to hitch. She chuckles next to your ear and sighs, "I'm not that drunk." She whispers before pulling back a bit, giving you a pointed look through her lashes before pulling away all together. You let out a shaky breath, face on fire, and swallow, nodding.

"Uhm, I'm going to use the restroom." You say and she nods, swishing her forth glass around.

You lock eyes with Quinn and subtly nod towards the bathroom. She lifts her chin and nods before grabbing Kurt's arm, breaking him and Sebastian up from their ten minute make out session. You head to the bathroom, knowing they're following and wait for them in the hallway to the bathroom.

"What's going on?" Quinn asks, more sober than she was, as Kurt fixes the collar of his shirt.

"Please, do tell." Kurt grumbles.

"I don't know." You say quickly, running your hands through your hair, "I was talking to Santana and oh my god, guys, I'm basically putty in her hands. I'm making a complete idiot out of myself and I don't know what to do!" you hiss in panic, glancing around before focusing on them. "One touch and my brain goes all fuzzy." You frown.

"Touch?!"

"There was touching?" Quinn and Kurt ask at once and you roll your eyes.

"Well, not that kind, just like, her hand would brush mine, or she placed her hand on my thigh just now…"

"Brittany, that's practically sex." Kurt says and you scrunch your nose.

"No, it's not."

"Yeah, Kurt, what the hell is wrong with you?" Quinn shakes her head. "Obviously she's flirting so just flirt back." She shrugs. "Make her all flustered instead of the other way around."

"That may be more difficult as of now…" Kurt mumbles, looking back at you and Quinn after glancing over his shoulder. You frown in confusion and move closer to him, holding his arms as you peek over his shoulder, your shoulders dropping when you spot Santana grinning at a tall brunette whom just took your spot at the bar.

* * *

><p>"Look! Why? Why does she need to keep touching her!" you ask loudly, holding your hand out towards Santana and the brunette intruder laughing and smiling at the billiards table.<p>

Sebastian went back to the boys, leaving the three of you to watch Santana flirt shamelessly with the girl and vice versa.

"Ugh, I know. What a slut." Quinn scoffs as the brunette steps closer to Santana, the Latina holding her pool cue in one hand and her beer in the other, and runs her hand down Santana's arm. Santana smirks seductively and you groan as the brunette bites her lip and runs her finger over Santana's collar bone.

"Damn, she's pretty good though."

"Kurt!" you and Quinn snap and he holds his hands up in surrender.

You cross your arms and lean back in the booth, keeping your glare on the girl as Santana leans over and whispers something in her ear.

"Oh come on!" you exclaim before shaking your head, "That's it." You shrug, "I'm leaving." And get out of the booth. Both Kurt and Quinn widen their eyes and jump up to stop you.

"You can't go!"

"Why not? Santana obviously found her New Year's kiss…" you say and glance back at the touch, their faces inches from each other's, "Maybe not even! Ugh, no, I'd rather not stay here and have to see this." You say and go to head for the door.

"Whoa, no." Kurt and Quinn each grab a shoulder and turn you around.

"Forget Santana." Quinn says, "For now anyway, and let's find you your own New Year's kiss."

"I'm sure Sam would volunteer."

"Ew." You scrunch your nose at the thought and the both of them nod in agreement.

"Yeah, bad idea. What about…" Kurt begins to scan the lounge and you pull your arms free.

"Guys, I don't want to look for anyone to kiss. The one I would've kissed has someone and my mood is shot." You pout, dropping back down to the booth.

Kurt frowns sympathetically and Quinn tucks a strand of your hair behind your ear comfortingly, "Let's just have fun then. Me, you, and Kurt. Just us."

"Doing what?" you snort and look up when Kurt squeals.

"One word. Karaoke!"

* * *

><p>"You think this is a good idea?" you whisper to Kurt as he tries to work the karaoke machine.<p>

"It's perfect! It will clear your mind of Santana immediately."

"Well maybe not with this song, Kurt, what is wrong with you!" Quinn smacks him and he scowls at her, straightening himself on the stage beside you. Quinn rolls her eyes.

"It's a catchy song and it's fun." He defends himself and his choice, handing you the lead mic before him and Quinn stand beside you and a step behind. He uses the remote for the machine and the music playing through the speakers turns off letting the karaoke music start.

"Somebody said you got a new friend," you begin, glancing at Kurt and Quinn next to you for reassurance, and they nod already doing that background singer dance step. "Does she love you better than I can? It's a big, black sky over my town. I know where you at, I bet she's around." You sing, glancing around the lounge table area, patrons turning their attention from their companions or the TV's showing the New York ball to you as you sing. "Yeah, I know it's stupid…but I just gotta see it for myself."

"I'm in the corner, watching you kiss her, ooh ohhh! I'm right over here, why can't you see me, ooh ohhh…" you continue on and look towards the billiards table, Sebastian and Finn having looked over, sporting smiles. "I'm giving it my all, but I'm not the girl you're taking home, oou ooou ooooou. I keep dancing on my own…"

"I keep dancing on my own!" Kurt and Quinn sing backup and you smile at them before the second verse comes around.

"I'm just gonna dance, all night." You tilt your head side to side with the music tics and smile when Noah glances up from taking a shot, noticing you and straightening with a surprised smile. "I'm all messed up, I'm so out of line." Sam does a double take at Noah before following his eye sight, beaming once he see you, and cups the sides of his mouth, hollering. "Stilettos and broken bottles, I'm spinning around in circles! I'm in the corner, watching you kiss her, ooh ohhh! I'm right over here, why can't you see me, ooh ohhh…I'm giving it my all, but I'm not the girl you're taking home, oou ooou ooooou. I keep dancing on my own…"

"I keep dancing on my own!"

You bop your head a bit, dancing to the music as you wet your lips, Kurt and Quinn doing thing where they swoop one arm in front of them before the other, making it look like they're swimming. When the bridge comes around you glance back to your friends at the billiards table and your breath catches as Santana looks over at you after Noah nudges her to do so. "So far away, but still so near…"

"The light's go on, the music dies."

"But you don't see me standing here…" you glance down before lifting your gaze back to Santana, her head tilted as she watches you.

"I just came…"

"To say goodbye. I'm in the corner, watching you kiss her, ooh ohhh!" You sing softly with a twitch of a smile when Santana's lips begin to curve upwards. Your smile falters when the brunette comes back to Santana from the bar with two drinks, handing one to her and effectively pulling Santana's attention from you, "I'm giving it my all, but I'm not the girl you're taking home, oou, ooou, ooooou! I keep dancing on my own…"

"I keep dancing one my own!" Quinn and Kurt sing as you let out an 'Oooh yeah!' in the middle.

"I'm in the corner, watching you kiss her, ooh ohhh! I'm right over here, why can't you see me, ooh ohhh…I'm giving it my all, but I'm not the girl you're taking home, oou ooou ooooou! I keep dancing on my own…"

"I keep dancing on my own!"

You clench your jaw as you watch Santana and the brunette smile and laugh together, the brunette letting her hand rest on Santana's arm, and finish the song with a shake of your head, "I keep dancing on my own…"

* * *

><p>You step off the tiny stage, ignoring the applause from the patrons and cross your arms as you wait for Kurt and Quinn. When they stumble down you give them pointed looks and throw your hand out, "That did not help me whatsoever!"<p>

"You got her attention." Kurt shrugs.

"For a second." You hiss before shaking your head, "No, that wasn't even what I wanted. You said singing would make me forget about her, but all it did was make me think about her more."

"I told you it was a bad song choice." Quinn states and you shake your head at the gay man, turning on your heel as you head to the booth to grab your things. When your song ended the music in the lounge began again as well as the volume on the TV's and right as you grab your jacket and straighten everyone starts counting down from ten.

"Ten!"

"Nine!"

"Eight!"

"Oh fantastic." You grumble and start to check for your keys and phone in your jacket pocket. "Damn it…" you growl before you feel them and pull them out. You look at Quinn and Kurt and they just look at you, letting you know with their eyes they don't want you to go.

"Three!

"Two!"

"One! Happy New Year!" Everyone in the lounge shouts as you turn to go to the door. You catch movement in the corner of your eye and look towards it, seeing Santana readying her pool shot as the brunette cheers and grabs Santana's cheeks, pulling her into a kiss. Santana's eyes widen, her hands still holding the cue, and you clench your jaw and shove your jacket, keys and phone into Kurt's hands before stealing the shot from a guy a table in front of you, and storming over to Santana, hearing Quinn's, "Oh shit."

Sam smiles as you make your way over, putting his pool cue down, as if he's expecting you to go to him, and frowns when you pass him.

As soon as Santana starts to return the brunette girls kiss, your eyes narrow into a glare directed at her before you say, "Excuse me," and take Santana's cue from her hands. She pulls back from the kiss and the brunette girl looks at you in annoyance before you bump her out of the way, Santana looking at you in confusion, and claim her lips with yours; surprising everyone.

* * *

><p>The instant your lips touch Santana's hands move to your waist and your hands slide from her face and you drape your arms over her shoulders, tilting your head as you deepen the kiss.<p>

Santana opens her mouth and you slide your tongue inside, enticing a moan from the Latina, and press your body closer as the brunette no name's protests fade around you. You nip at Santana's bottom lip as you pull away and she opens her eyes, licking her lips with a dazed look.

"Happy New Year." You say before turning and moving to Quinn and Kurt staring with their jaws dropped. "Thanks." You say to Kurt for holding your things as you take them from him, pulling your jacket on before pocketing your phone and keys, and leaving the lounge, not noticing Santana coming to her senses and calling your name.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yaaaaas, Jealous!Brittany. I've had this chapter idea in my head since like the first few chapters of this fic and I was so excited when I got to finally write it. So yeah! Hope you all liked it! Update will be Wednesday as usual, until then, Loves! Mwah!**

**-B**


	20. Chapter 21

**A/N: I'm so excited for you all to read the next chapters coming up that it's killing me having to wait to post. But I know I gotta spread them out. So believe me, I know how you feel when the chapter ends because I want to update just as much as you want one! At least this one is a bit longer. So I'm going to say this one is kind of a filler but it's not really...I don't think. It's important for the story to progress though.**

**Also I have a feeling most of you may be a little upset with me at the end...well we'll see won't we!**

**-B**

* * *

><p>January, 2015:<p>

"Brittany Susan Pierce, open this door, right now!"

You groan as you drag your feet to open the door. You hold your hands against your forehead, wincing when the banging continues, and walking into the corner of one of the hallway walls. You mumble a curse, wincing at the sudden pain in your shoulder, and peek an eye open when you reach the door.

"Why are you yelling?" you whisper, minding your migraine, and shush Chess when he goes off. "Fuck." You whine, pressing your hands harder against your head as you move to let Chess outside.

You slide the door closed and let out a relieved sigh before turning to look back at Kurt standing in your apartment foyer with his arms crossed and a serious expression on his face. "What?"

"What do you mean, _what_?" he exclaims and you flinch, waving your hands.

"Jesus, Kurt, my head!" you whine and he huffs as you walk by to retrieve Advil and a glass of water. "God, I haven't had a hangover this bad since first year of university. Remember, I told you when I…"

"Woke up in the campus park, yeah. Stop trying to change the subject." He says, moving to the living room. He pulls his jacket off and drapes it over the back of your chair before sitting on the couch. You squint at him, unsure about what he's exactly talking about, and put the kettle on for tea.

"I'm not really sure what you're talking about to be honest." You tell him and he scoffs.

"Don't try to play innocent, Britt." He says and you shake your head as you go to let Chess in.

"I'm not playing anything, I'm serious. The last thing I remember is you making me sing then it's like fuzzy. Like when your TV is acting up, that static, ugh, it's terrible." You shake your head, and look to the kitchen when the kettle goes.

"Sit down." He says, getting up to fix your tea, seeing you struggle to move without wincing, and you do so, watching him go to the kitchen and put a bag in a cup before filling it with the hot water. "So you're telling me you don't remember seeing that brunette chick kiss Santana?" he asks and you stop from bouncing the tea bag in the water, looking at him with wide eyes and a frown.

"What?" you ask quietly, "S-she actually kissed her?" you swallow and Kurt furrows his brows.

"Yeah, you don't remember that?" he asks and you shrug, "So you don't remember stealing that guys shot? Or making me hold your stuff so you could storm over and…"

"Oh my god!" you exclaim in horror, looking at Kurt with wide, terrified eyes, "Oh my god! I kissed Santana! Oh my _god_!"

"Yeah, oh my god, is right." He says slowly.

"Oh my god, Kurt! And like, god, in front of everyone." You say quickly, panicking, "Noah, Finn, I can't show my face at work or any of your gatherings…" you begin to list off when Kurt shake his head and moves from the chair to the spot on the couch beside you.

"Britt, first of all, everyone that was there was hammered, besides me and Quinn, so I doubt they'll remember. Second of all, even if they do who cares? Say it was a drunk kiss, they won't blink an eye. And third," he pauses, giving you a small smile, "Honey, you should be more concerned about how you're going to act around Santana seeing as we have brunch with Quinn and Rach at noon." He says and you widen your eyes, remembering you agreed to the brunch with the four of them a couple days ago.

"Oh god." You groan, burying your head in your hands.

* * *

><p>"This was a terrible idea." You mumble as you sit in Quinn and Rachel's drive way.<p>

Kurt looks at you as he turns his car off and you groan, giving him a pleading look when he tells you to hurry up while taking his seat belt off.

"Britt, it'll be fine." He smiles faintly and you narrow your eyes.

"You're just saying that."

"I am, yes. But I'm hungry and cold so let's go." He nods, opening his door. You reluctantly get out of the car, pulling your collar up as you walk behind Kurt up the driveway, the wind blowing against your face. Even with it only taking ten seconds to get to their front door, your face is already frozen. Kurt bangs on the door and then stuffs his hands in his coat pockets, calling for someone to open the damn door.

The door swings open and Rachel breathes an apology, smiling widely at the both of you as she ushers you inside quickly. You look around the foyer of the cute bungalow and start to unbutton your coat.

"So, Brittany," Rachel starts, standing beside you as she motions to the space, "What do you think?"

You nod with a smile, sliding your arms out of your coat sleeves, "I like it. It's cute. Especially the crown molding, it gives the place character."

"Thank you!" Rachel says pointedly, swatting Kurt's shoulder as he rolls his eyes. He opens his mouth to comment when Quinn pokes her head around the corner at the end of the hall, smiling widely when she sees you and Kurt.

"Rach, it's freezing by the door, let them come in." she says and Rachel nods and motions for you and Kurt to follow her. Kurt starts ahead of her and Rachel shakes her head and follows him with you in tow. You smile at Quinn when you see her in front of the stove, frying bacon, and she looks over her shoulder. "Afternoon, you two. Britt, how's the head?" she winks with a knowing smile and you groan, sitting at the cute six seating kitchen table.

You let out a sigh and cross your legs, holding your chin in your hand, "It was terrible."

"I'll bet."

"So, Brittany, Quinn mentioned you had an eventful night." Rachel smiles excitedly while rejoining her girlfriend in the kitchen. "Kurt, would you mind making the-"

"The fresh lemonade? Yeah, I got it." He says, turning around from the fridge with a large bowl of cooled lemons. She smiles widely at him in thanks as you send Quinn a sharp glare. She shrugs and mouths 'I was drunk' before smiling softly when Rachel kisses her cheek on her way to grab a knife from the block next to Quinn.

"So, Brittany? Big night?" Rachel asks, wiggling her eyebrows as she starts cutting some green onion.

You stare at her and blink, chuckling nervously when you hear the doorbell.

"I'll get that!" you say quickly to get out of talking about last night, and are out of the chair before anyone can blink an eye.

You tuck a strand piece of hair that had fallen from your ponytail behind you ear as you get closer to the door and pause when you realize its Santana.

"Oh crap on me…" you mumble and wince, knowing you're leaving her in the cold.

"Damn it, Berry, open the door. It's fucking cold!" Santana's muffled voice comes through and you wince again and quickly open the door, pulling the Latina in. "Took you damn long enough." She huffs, adjusting her hold on a pie in her hands, "It's like minus four or something." She sighs, lifting her head as you pull the sleeves of your grey knit sweater over your hands and cross your arms, warming up.

"Sorry, I got distracted." You offer lamely, nodding towards the door as Santana closes her mouth and blinks, nodding.

"Y-yeah, no, it's fine." She says quickly, looking around for somewhere to put the pie so she can take her coat off.

"I can take it." You chuckle awkwardly, carefully taking the pie in your hands.

"Thanks."

"Of course."

She glances at you as she pulls her arms from the sleeves and you force a small smile. She forces one back and you look down, trying to avoid any more awkwardness.

"I can…" she trails off, holding her hands out for the pie. You nod and hand it over, crossing your arms again before you rock on your heels. You quickly run your eyes over her outfit and smile faintly at her very casual look; leggings, black ankle socks, a black tank top, and a longer maroon cardigan. Her hair was in a messy bun atop her head. She looked adorable. And totally comfy, you could just snuggle into her.

"Uh, everyone's in the kitchen." You tell her and she nods, eyeing you before heading down the short hall.

* * *

><p>"You think maybe you have enough bacon there, Fabray? That is not good for the heart. I would know. " Santana states, nodding to the pile of bacon on Quinn's plate.<p>

Quinn smiles mockingly as she takes a large chomp of a piece and Santana just shakes her head and goes back to eating her food.

It was amazingly delicious. Like a total feast too! Rachel made this really good vegan dish that you can't remember the name of, but Santana wouldn't have any of it so she kicked everyone out of the kitchen so she could make herself an omelet, of which you got one of your own, Santana having offered when your eyes widened at the mention. There were sausages, a Hispanic dish that Rachel made for Santana early in the morning, fresh made rolls, fruits, vegetables, and of course, Santana's pie. Pumpkin, yum!

You and Rachel smile fondly at the two and look at each other before you wipe the smile from your face and look down at the food. You had no reason to smile and act like you shared something like that. Like Santana was your girlfriend and when Quinn and her bickered, you could share a knowing look with Rachel that basically translates to '_those idiots. But they're our idiots'_. No. Santana wasn't your idiot. She wasn't you're anything.

You glance back at Rachel to see her eating happily, and look at Kurt, a knowing smile directed at you. You roll your eyes and cut a piece of your sausage, chewing it before swallowing.

"So, Brittany, don't think I forgot about you not answering my question earlier." Rachel says teasingly and you freeze from putting another bite in your mouth. "Just tell me what happened last night!" she chuckles and you all snap your heads up and you look at Santana with wide eyes as she stills, her hands outstretched and hovering above her spilt glass of lemonade.

She swallows and glances around before straightening and rolling her eyes, "Well damn it, Berry, if you didn't have all the dishes on the table maybe there would be room for my glass." She huffed, sitting back with her arms crossed.

Rachel just open and closes her mouth before furrowing her brows and getting up, grabbing one of the dishes to move, "Quinn, would you mind giving me a hand?" she asks and Quinn jumps up, nodding.

"Yeah, sure." She says, grabbing the bacon. She puts a few more pieces on her plate before holding one in her mouth and slapping Santana's shoulder. "Idiot." She says around the piece of meat before following Rachel.

"Well aren't you a smooth criminal." Kurt chuckles at Santana and she glares at him.

"You told Rachel?" she hisses at him and Kurt drops his jaw.

"Why would you even think that?"

"Because you're the gossip of the group, besides Mercedes who wasn't there, so obviously it was you." Santana growls as you just stare in horror.

"Oh my god, you remember?" you shriek quietly and Santana does a double take.

"It's kind of hard to forget." She says before realizing how that sounded the same time Kurt smirks. Her eyes widen a bit before she clears her throat and shakes her head.

"Sorry to break it to you, Santana, but I didn't tell her. That was all Quinn."

"Damn that woman." She hisses and gives Quinn a dirty look when both she and Rachel return to the table.

"Is that enough room, Santana?" Quinn sasses and Santana just looks at her with an unimpressed stare. Quinn glances between the three of you besides Rachel and shifts, smiling awkwardly, "My bad." She mumbles.

"Damn right you're bad." Santana growls.

"Santana, leave her alone. It's not her fault she told me. It's Brittany's for not having better control of herself." Rachel comments while taking a forkful of her dish.

You look at her in utter shock and close your mouth, holding a hand up, "First, you knew?! Why were you asking me if you knew? And second, hey!"

Rachel smiles faintly, "I wanted to see if you'd tell me."

"Obviously not, you have a big ass mouth." Santana rolls her eyes.

"And second, there's nothing to be ashamed of, you were drunk, no big deal." Rachel shrugs. You lean forwards and hold your forehead in your hand, shaking it slowly.

* * *

><p>"So," you glance to the side when Rachel sits beside you in the living room, Quinn and Santana cleaning up, and Kurt in the restroom.<p>

"So?" you draw out and she smiles, handing you a tea. You nod in thanks and she looks back at her girlfriend and Santana before crossing her legs and looking at you.

"Was it just you were drunk and Santana was there, or do you actually like her?" she asks, lifting her cup to her lips as you sigh and melt into the couch.

"You know what, I don't care anymore. Kurt knows, Quinn knows, even Mercedes knows so yeah, I guess you can know too." You say with a shrug, pausing to listen before saying, "Yes, I have a little crush on Santana. You can't tell anyone. Enough people already know." You tell her pleadingly and she smiles, nodding.

"Well kissing her in front of the boys might not have been as subtle as you think, but I can keep a secret much better than Quinn, Brittany. You don't need to worry about me." She chuckles and you let out a relieved sigh. The two of you glance up as the other three come in the living room, Kurt picking a fluff from his vest. "So what's new?" Rachel asks.

"Sebastian and I are thinking of becoming official." Kurt says quickly with excitement and you smile with Quinn and Rachel as Santana rolls her eyes.

"Why don't you just be single but shack up? It's easier that way." She says and you frown, shaking your head.

"What are you talking about?" you ask and Santana arches a brow, "Those two are perfect together and care about each other so why shouldn't they be together. Being friends with benefits is never easier. Especially when feelings are involved." You argue and Kurt nods, pointing at you as Santana rolls her eyes.

"Listen, all I'm saying is that if you don't date him then there is no need to go to family gatherings, buy gifts, pay for dinners, oh, Kurt, it's so much cheaper." She says, looking at him with a nod.

"You're an idiot." Quinn says and you nod in agreement.

"I second that notion." You say and Rachel chuckles.

"Me too."

"Hey, I'm being honest. I know from experience that dating someone is expensive as fuck." Santana states and your heart drops. Of course you didn't expect her to have been single her entire life but knowing she had been in a relationship was a little annoying. "That's why it's the single life for me. It works. You have someone for the physical needs and that's all you really need. You have friends for the emotional stuff." She chuckles at herself, tipping her head to the side before taking a drink of coffee.

Thankfully Santana isn't looking at you when everyone subtly glances at you apologetically and you just roll your eyes and shrink into the couch.

* * *

><p>You pull back from Rachel's hug as Kurt goes on about having to do this again very soon, and excuse yourself to go to the bathroom, rolling your eyes with a smile with Quinn when Rachel and Kurt hug each other tightly.<p>

You locate the bathroom and go inside, jumping as Santana startles in front of the mirror.

"Oh, uh, sorry." You smile apologetically, stepping out to closer the door when Santana calls for you to stop. You pause and she rolls her eye with a faint smile.

"I'm done, you can use it." She says, looking back at the mirror to check quickly for any flaws in her makeup before moving to slip past you. You turn to the side to let her go and she does the same, brushing your fronts as she does so. You tense and blush as she freezes and glances at you. "Sorry."

"Yeah, no, it's fine." You chuckle nervously, waving it off and go to step out so she can move out as she does the same. The both of you chuckle and avert your gazes, mumbling apologies as you suck in and press back against the wall, Santana sliding past quickly. "Finally." You joke and Santana looks back at you while holding her forehead.

"Yeah." She laughs nervously. You wet your lips and swallow as Santana glances at your lips, clearing her throat. "Yeah." She repeats before turning and moving further into the house.

You slide down a bit against the door frame with a heavy sigh and rest your head back against the frame.

* * *

><p>You thank Kurt for the ride and step out of the car after kissing his cheek, and go up to your apartment, stepping inside. You smile at Chess and close the door, moving to let him out as you unzip your jacket.<p>

You let him in and slip your boots off, placing them in the foyer closet before releasing your hair from its ponytail. You hang your jacket up and move to put the kettle on, thinking you're going to finish reading the book Santana gave you for Christmas, and slowly lower the kettle back to the stove top when there is a knock at your door. You frown in confusion and hold your hand out to quiet Chess, opening the door slowly.

"Santana?" you question.

She releases her bottom lip from between her teeth and closes in on you, pulling you into a hungry kiss.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm so sorry!The teasing I know, I know! It had to be done. So...do you absolutely hate my guts lol?**

**-B**

**Pssst...*whispers* sexy times? Sexy times. ;)**


	21. Chapter 22

**A/N: TWO UPDATES IN ONE DAY? I SPOIL YOU! I'm sorry lol, I couldn't make you all wait until Saturday for this! And let's be real, you guys convinced me to add the next chapter :D I've already teased so much! So, let's get right to it. Hope all ya'll enjoy ;)**

**-B**

* * *

><p>January, 2015:<p>

Your hands immediately grab the front ends of her cardigan as she pushes the door closed before moving her hands to your waist, hooking her fingers in your belt loops. Your feet carry you backwards until you're pinned between one of the foyer/kitchen walls and Santana.

Santana slides her hands up, bringing your sweater up with you, her hands burning against your skin as you suck in a sharp breath.

"Santana…" you breathe, resting your forehead against hers as you pant lightly, holding the side of her neck, your thumb brushing her jawline as her hands roam over your toned stomach. She breathes out in reply and you close your eyes, basking in her touch before she captures your lips again.

You whimper into the kiss and pull at her cardigan, bringing it down her arms. She removes her hands from your body to help rid her cardigan from her body as well as her tank before she grabs the bottom of your sweater and pulls it up your body. You lift your arms and bite your lip as you watch Santana drop the piece of clothing. You swallow and she takes your hands, lifting them over your head as she steps closer, pressing her body against yours.

You take a sharp inhale as Santana kisses up your neck, sucking and licking. You shiver and let out a soft moan as her hands slowly, sensually slide down your forearms, biceps, and shoulders. She continues her assault on your neck before her lips move to your jaw and then lips. You open your mouth and Santana caresses your tongue with hers as your hands run down her sides and to her backside. She sucks in a sharp breath and you smile widely, taking control of the kiss, your hands moving to the bottom of her thighs.

You pull, bringing her forwards and lift her up. Her arms wrap around your neck and legs around your waist as you hold her, moving to the bedroom.

* * *

><p>You lean forwards and sit her on the bed, biting her bottom lip lightly as her arms pull back and her hands move to your jeans. Your stomach flips, having her hands so close to your most intimate spot, and you gulp, licking your lips when Santana pulls back to focus on getting rid of your pants.<p>

You run your hands through your hair, watching Santana begin to pull your jeans down, and tilt your head to the side as you drop your one hand to her shoulder to keep steady as you step out of the tight jeans.

You feel her hands caressing your legs and let out a shaky breath. You push against her shoulder to have her lie back and crouch down, pulling her leggings from her legs; your heart pounding with every inch of skin you reveal.

You toss the leggings aside and climb over Santana, straddling her right leg as she pushes herself onto her elbows, pulling you into a hot open mouthed kiss.

You groan and hold yourself up with one hand as the other rests against Santana's jaw, sucking her bottom lip. She lets out a tiny whimper, making you beam against her lips, and feel her lips curl upwards as well.

You begin to chuckle quietly and Santana's smile grows as she keeps her eyes closed, shaking her head, "Don't."

"Don't what?" you whisper with an amused tone, running your thumb over her jawline.

Santana lifts her chin and nudges your nose with hers before capturing your lips in a breathtakingly deep kiss, "You know what." She husks, against your lips sending a shot of arousal straight to your lady loins. She chuckles seductively with a knowing glint in her eye and bring her leg up slowly, lifting her hips, forcing your center to press against her knee.

You gasp and instinctively grind down against her.

"Eager much?" she teases and you growl for her to shut up, grinding against her. She flips your positions and smirks down at you, sliding her arm out from under you. You widen your eyes as she dangles your bra off her finger and gawk. She hums with a wink, "Mad skills." She whispers before leaning down and wrapping her lips around a nipple, kneading your other breast. You arch your back, lifting your chest and Santana sucks hard before switching. She releases with a pop and then starts to kiss the valley between your breasts. You groan and growl at her hair still in its bun, lifting your hands to remove it from the tie holding it up. You end up stretching it too much, effectively snapping it.

Santana pauses at the sound and you bite your lip nervously. She glances at you through her lashes before shaking her head and moving down your body. You tangle your hand in her free hair as she settles between your legs and gasp, jerking your hips when she presses a kiss to your center over your panties.

"God, Santana, don't fucking tease me!" you hiss and she hums, removing the underwear completely. You pull your bottom lip into your mouth when the cool air hits your hot, slick center, and Santana moans.

"Fuck…" she breathes before leaning in and running her tongue flat over your center. You throw your head back, moaning loudly as your grip on her hair tightens, and she continues to run her tongue over you.

Her lips wrap around your little ball of nerves and you begin to writhe against the bed, barely feeling Santana's hands run softly over the inside of your thighs. What you do feel is her push two digits inside you and you arch your back before trying to close your legs around her head.

"Fuck me…" you whimper pulling your hand from her hair to grip at the sheets on either side of you. Santana hums against you and sends vibrations through your body, adding to the increasing pleasure. She angles her fingers and you let out a squeak when she hits your spot. She chuckles and continues to hit the same spot over and over while sucking on your clit, until you're coming undone with a violent wave of pleasure. You can't think of anything besides how good this feels as Santana quickens her thrusts, bringing you a second powerful orgasm. You tighten your legs against her head as you moan the Latina's name. You relax and your legs release Santana's head as yours drops back against the mattress. You let out a content sigh and Santana kisses the insides of your thighs. "San…San-tana." You get out.

She crawls up the bed and flops down on your left, running a weak hand through her hair as you try to regain control of your breathing. You lick your lips as you look at her and just run your eyes over her relaxed face, eyes lightly closed as she breathes with her parted lips.

You take a deep breath and exhale before turning onto your side. Santana opens her eyes slowly as you run your hand over her flat stomach, her stomach muscles flexing under your touch. You shuffle closer and move her right arm so it's around you, and continue to run your hand over her smooth skin while starting to kiss her neck.

You feel her quickened heart rate through the vein in her neck, and smirk, moving your hand lower and to the hem of her panties. You slide your fingers under it and caress the soft skin as she brings her arm under around your shoulders up so she can tangles her fingers in your hair. You breathe hotly against her neck as her chest begins to rise and fall quicker, her fingers tightening in your hair. You lower your hand and dip your fingers into her wetness, opening your mouth as she whimpers, opening her legs a bit wider.

You circle her clit with your two fingers, adding pressure, and shift, pulling your other arm from between the two of you, pushing yourself onto your elbow. Santana's arm drops as she turns her head. You answer her silent plea and press your lips against hers as your fingers continue to move in circles. Her breathing picks up as you quicken your movements and she lets out a whimper when you pull your hand from her panties to remove her bra.

She watches you with darkened eyes as you remove the article before you're taking one of her nipples in your mouth. You hold her gaze and squeeze her other breast, watching her suck in a shaky breath as her head falls back. You brush her hair from her face and she leans into the touch as your other hand moves back down into her underwear.

She bites her lip to hold back a moan and you push your fingers inside her, motioning them in a 'come hither' motion.

"Oh god!" she groans, tilting her head back as her left fist grips at the bed, the nails on her right hand lightly digging into your shoulder. You move your mouth from her breast to her mouth and kiss her deeply. Her hands tangle in your hair and you tilt your head, kissing her with everything you have as you keep moving your wrist. You pull back and rest your forehead against hers, watching her as her eyes close tightly. "Fuck…" she breathes out, her hands sliding from your hair to the nape of your neck where she holds, keeping your forehead against hers as you bring her to the peak. She lets out a guttural moan and you're pulled into another kiss.

Your hand slips out from her and the underwear, tracing her twitching abs as she pants against your lips. You leave your hand on her sternum and play with her hair as her eyes flutter. Her head lolls to the side, resting against your shoulder and you smile softly.

"God…" she mumbles before you both let out a chuckle. "I really needed that." She says and you still your hand, furrowing your brows as she runs a hand though her hair, letting out a breath. She drops her hand to the bed and you stare at her as she lets her eyes close. You watch her until you notice her breathing has evened out, and then roll onto your back and stare at the ceiling.

"I really needed that?" you question quietly, repeating her words, and turn your head to look at the sleeping woman. You turn your head back to look at the ceiling and bring the balls of your palms to your eyes, pressing hard as you shake your head. It was just another hook up.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Whoop whoop! So you think you can hold off until Saturday now? Haha, so everybody, some of you had some interesting theories about what you believe I'm doing further in the story and I don't know...maybe you're right, maybe not. But whatever it is I promise you I'll try to make you happy with every chapter and if you ever feel like "Damn it, why!" just know the ending I have for this story shall make up for it...I hope. Haven't gotten that far but I have the idea in my head. **

**-B**


	22. Chapter 23 & Chapter 24

**A/N: LOL all your reviews were amazing! You guys had me sitting in my lectures and smiling like an idiot. Honestly. Yeah, Santana is being stubborn as hell rn, but all in due time, loves! Hope you enjoy this one. Well two, they're smashed together to make it longer for you all. Mwah!**

**-B**

* * *

><p>January, 2015:<p>

You open your eyes and let out a yawn, lifting your hand to cover it up as you glance around. You pause and throw your hand out, spreading your hand on the left side of the bed and look over, frowning at Santana's absence. Again.

You let out a sigh and push yourself up, the covers falling around your waist, and shiver. You furrow your brows, wondering how you actually got under the covers, and run a hand through your hair as you look around the floor, seeing your clothes on the top of your hamper. You swing your legs to get up out of bed and cross your arms over your chest as you go to grab an oversized hoodie.

You slip it on and grab a pair of boy shorts from your underwear drawer before you leave the bedroom.

You let out a sigh, pulling your hair from under your hoodie and smile at Chess lying on the couch chewing on that ball you bought him a while back. He lifts his head and the ball drops from his mouth, his tongue hanging out with a smile. You chuckle at him and turn, going to the kitchen, and jump, letting out a scream.

"Jesus, Pierce." Santana scrunches her nose as you lower your hands from your mouth, staring at her in shock. You run your eyes over her body. She was standing in front of the stove in her clothes. Her hair was in a ponytail and you just stare as she stirs whatever it was she was making.

"You're still here…" you say and Santana hums, nodding while lifting the pot and moving it to a different element, turning the heated one off. You move closer and rest against the island as you watch her grab milk and butter from the fridge. "You made mac and cheese?" you ask in confusion.

"Yeah, I woke up and I was kinda hungry and I figured you'd be hungry too so I helped myself." She shrugs while undoing the cap of the milk, pausing to look back at you, "Is that okay? I should've just went out and grabbed something." She says quickly, shaking her head as you step closer and hold your hand out to stop her.

"No, no, it's fine." You smile because…well, she stayed this time, and made you something to eat.

Santana offers a faint smile back before finishing up and putting the milk and butter back in the fridge. You grab two bowls from the cupboard and Santana scoops spoonfuls into each before putting the empty pot in the sink and beginning to clean it. You tilt your head, watching her curiously, and pull two glasses from the cupboard, filling them with water.

"Thanks." She says, drying the pot off before putting it away. You nod and lean forwards, bringing a spoonful of mac and cheese into your mouth. You moan quietly, not realizing how hungry you were until now, and look at the time.

"It's already seven?!" you exclaim incredulously and Santana nods, swallowing her spoonful. You shake your head and furrow your brows, "When did you wake up?"

"About an hour ago." She shrugs and you both look at Chess when he strolls into the kitchen and sniffs Santana's ankle. You watch her as she tenses faintly before relaxing and smile.

"I thought you were scared of dogs?"

"I was…I am…but, well, he's not bad. It's more big dogs." She tells you as you watch Chess begin to search the kitchen floor for drops of food.

You eat in silence and put your dishes in the dishwasher before you head over to the couch, pulling your legs under you as Santana puts her dishes in the dishwasher. You watch her and she watches you as she slowly walks to the chair your mother gave you.

"Santana…" you begin hesitantly, "No offense, I mean it's not like I don't want you here but…why are you still here? I mean, last time this happened, I woke up and you were gone." You shrug slowly and she nods.

"I know…"

"Actually, why did you come here in the first place?"

Santana narrows her eyes and glances around before holding her arms out, "Did you like just forget what went on or…"

"No, I know, but why did that happen?"

She shrugs and moves to sit in the chair, pulling one leg under her, "I don't know. I just came here." She admits and you nod slowly wanting her to continue, "It's not like we're not attracted to each other."

"I know but…"

"I actually have a proposition." She says cutting you off and you stop mid-sentence, closing your mouth as you shift. "I think we should continue this." She states, motioning between the two of you, "Sleeping together."

"E-excuse me?" you ask with a blush as she shifts, sitting on the edge of the chair.

"Look, it's a pretty prime idea. We live close to each other, we work with each other…why not take advantage of this?" she asks with a grin and you furrow your brows.

"Wait, let me get this straight…" you chuckle awkwardly, "You, Santana…" you say, pointing at her, "You think we should be…like friends with benefits?"

"Yes." She nods and you stare at her.

"Wha-no!" you shake your head, getting up.

"Why not?" Santana asks, turning around in the chair as you pace near the kitchen. You stop at her question and hold your hands out to the sides.

"Santana, _seriously_?" you scowl and she lifts her shoulders in confusion, "Were you not listening at Rachel and Quinn's when I said you were an _idiot_ for thinking friends with benefits is ever a good idea? Well Quinn said it but I agreed full heartedly." God this woman.

You shake your head, holding your hand out to stop her as she gets up and moves to stand in front of you, "Pierce, come on. Think hard about it. It makes sense. We have long, _exhausting_ hours and how perfect would it be to be able to have someone who understands what you're going through. Someone close who you can share your release with." She grins, moving closer as you shakes your head and look at the ground. "You can't deny that we have awesome sex."

You blush deeply and tuck hair behind your ear as Santana hooks her fingers in the elastic of your boy shorts, pulling your closer to her.

"Santana…" you look at her, shaking your head and she just nods with a growing smile. You sigh and she chuckles, smirking.

"Honestly, Pierce, it's great. We're both hot and we have hot sex. We're friends and we're comfortable enough around each other it shouldn't be a problem. We won't have to worry about falling for each other." She rolls her eyes with a laugh as you pull your bottom lip between your teeth, shaking your head. "Let's just try it out. Like a trial run. If you want to back out after a few days then fine." She says, running her hands up under your hoodie along your stomach.

You take in a sharp breath and swallow, looking at her eyes.

You were already falling for her, being friends with benefits is a terrible idea but…it's Santana. And she's so enchanting and captivating, it's taking a lot of strength not to give in and throw her on the couch. But agreeing would be like signing your soul to the devil. You already know that if you keep sleeping with Santana then you're going to fall in love with her and then be left heartbroken once she breaks it off or finds someone she actually wants to be with.

"So…"

"Santana, I-I can't." you mumble, wrapping your hands around her wrists, and pull her hands from under your hoodie as she furrows her brows slightly. You give her an apologetic look, a conflicted look, and step away from her with your eyes downcast.

"Why?" she asks, crossing her arms and you wet your lips.

"Because something always goes wrong when it comes having that type of relationship." You say, which is true, you just leave out the part about how you're falling for her already.

She just nods and looks around before offering a forced smile, "Okay, well, I'll see you at work." She says and you open your mouth to stop her but she is already grabbing her jacket and putting her shoes on.

"Santana…"

"It's fine, Pierce. It was just a suggestion." She shrugs and mumbles a goodbye to Chess before leaving your apartment. You slump against the wall, your mind screaming at you for being an idiot and not taking Santana up on her offer, and Chess sits at your feet, looking up at you.

"A walk isn't going to help clear my mind." You tell him and he just smiles his puppy smile and wags his tail. You roll your eyes and go to change.

**CHAPTER 24**

February, 2015:

"You've been hiding."

"I have not been hiding." You snort, sliding a curtain across to shelter a patient, "We haven't had a case come in for the past two days and I figured I'd offer some help down here."

"Right… So what the hell happened between you and Santana?" Quinn asks, looping her arm with yours as you turn into another all. You lift your brows in surprise and look at the other blonde woman.

"Uh, what?"

"She's back to her bitchy self."

"She's always been a bitch, Quinn." You rolls your eyes and Quinn laughs sarcastically as you hand the ER receptionist a patient file with a smile.

"No, this is her bitchy self that you were never introduced to. What you witnessed since being here was like a three on her bitch scale. She's at a seven." She states and you shrug, heading out of the clinic. "Brittany, we were talking on the phone last night and I just mentioned that the three of us should go to that sale at Victoria Secret and she flipped. Like I mean _flipped_." She squeezes your arm and you sigh, turning to face her as you stand in the foyer of the hospital.

"Look, Quinn, I don't know what's going with Santana, okay? We haven't spoken in like almost two weeks, besides when its case related."

"What?!" Quinn hisses with wide eyes, pulling your closer, "Why didn't you tell me? And what's the reason for that?" she asks as you try to pull her grip from you.

"We had a disagreement." You mumble and Quinn goes to question you further when the ER ambulance door burst open and the paramedics roll a pretty girl with light brown hair into the ER. "What's going on?" you ask one of them quickly, looking over the girl as you grab the tiny light from your lab coat pocket, looking at the girls eyes.

"Her name's Jenna. Twenty-eight," Santana says stepping in from the ambulance with her hand in her hair, wearing jeans, converse shoes, and her coat open to reveal her hoodie. Her hair falls in messy curls and she looks exhausted as she gives you and Quinn the information. "Tonic clonic seizer."

"Duration?" you ask, helping the paramedics move her to an open bed.

"Uh, a little over three minutes."

"You seem to know a lot about her." Quinn comments and you look at her, her brow arched expectantly, and then look at Santana as she clenches her jaw. Then it clicks. You drop your shoulders and your lips part. She was with her…she slept with her. You feel sick. And hurt. And pissed. And it would've been ten times worse if you continued to sleep with her like she wanted. Bravo for you. Nice call, Brittany.

"Uhm, do you…do you know what caused it?" you ask and Santana shakes her head, not having looked at you once yet.

"I-I don't know."

"Is she allergic to anything?" you continue and Santana shakes her head, watching as the paramedics set Jenna up in a bed.

"I don't know."

"Do you-"

"I don't know anything but what I've already told you, Brittany." She snaps and you clench your jaw while holding her harsh stare. "_God_, just…where's Puck?"

* * *

><p>You sit with your team in the diagnostic office, holding a pen with both hands at each ends as Noah looks through the patient's file. <em>Jenna's<em> file.

"This is her first seizer?" he asks Santana and she nods, running her hands over her face.

"That what she said." She mumbles as you stare at her with narrowed eyes. Ten days. It's been ten days since the two of you had spoken, unless it was related to work. All because you declined her proposition to be fuck buddies. You scowl and watch her continue to talk with Noah, barely hearing Mike throw in input every once in a while. _I say no and so she goes and finds some random girl to sleep with_, you growl inwardly and jump in surprise when your pen snaps in half.

It's quiet as everyone looks at you and you get up, dropping the pen in the garbage by the counter and put your hands on your hips.

"Pierce," Noah says and you look over at him. He lifts his shoulders, "Well?"

"Sorry, did you ask me something?" you blink quickly and shake your head at your out of it behavior.

He sighs and drops the file on the table, sliding it towards you before resting his hands on the table flat, "I asked if you had any ideas." You nod and pick up the file, glancing at Santana holding her head in her hands, before you flip open the file.

"Severe fatigue and retinal vein occlusion." You read before rolling your eyes and flipping the page, "Quite the catch, Santana." You mumble quietly, obviously not quietly enough.

"What?" Mike asks as Santana lifts her head with a glare.

"Oh," you say, feigning innocence, "She didn't tell you that she slept with her and she had the seizer at Santana's. That's how she knows her and why she looks as shitty as she does." You point out with a forced smile as Santana clenches her jaw, Mike looking at Santana in surprise as Noah massages his temple.

"Santana, tell me you didn't." Noah says and Santana just keeps her glare on you as you glance away from her. "Jesus. Now let me ask you this. Besides _sleeping_ with the patient what were you doing?"

"Look, she wasn't our patient last night." Santana argues, holding her hand out towards Puck with her voice laced with irritation.

"What did you do?" Noah asks firmly, stepping closer to the table with his arms crossed, jaw clenched. Santana clenches her own jaw before looking at the table with a glare. "God damn it, Lopez! I thought you stopped with that shit?" he snaps as Santana shakes her head in annoyance.

"Calm the fuck down, Puckerman. We had some drinks at the bar."

"If it's anything like your usual hook ups you took a few lines too!" he scolds her and Santana gets up and pushes him away from her.

"Get out of my face, Noah. I have enough to deal with right now." She snaps and you watch in shock, alongside Mike moving to separate the two if need be, as Noah grabs Santana by her wrists and pushes her back firmly but not too hard.

"Guys, stop." Mike says, moving between the two with his hands on each of the doctor's shoulders, keeping them away from each other as Santana glares at her cousin, Noah shaking his head at her in disappointment. "We need to get on with the case." He says, giving Noah a pointed look before letting his hands fall from their shoulders. "Now, Brittany, is she diabetic?"

"Why don't you ask Doctor Lopez, I'm sure she'd know." You say with a faux sweet smile, tilting your head at Mike as you glance at Santana, rolling her eyes with crossed arms.

"Pierce." Noah sighs and you put your cup on the table, looking at him with huff.

"No history of hypertension." You close the file and drop it lightly on the table before crossing your arms, "The seizer could be the result of dehydration or something _neurological_." You say with a pointed tilt of your head, glancing at Santana. She slowly looks at you with narrowed eyes and you look at Noah.

"Or the ecstasy we found in her system." You shift your gaze to Kurt poking his head in the room, holding out a paper from the new tests. Noah mutters curses under his breath with a firm look in Santana's direction as you look at her in disbelief.

"Thanks, Kurt." Noah mumbles and Kurt nods, glancing between you and Santana before leaving the room.

"Look, she didn't take the drugs at my place. I gave that up years ago, I told you that." Santana says to Noah and he shakes his head. "I'm telling you the truth. I didn't take any, she was with her friends when I met her. I think it's from dehydration which was obviously from the mix of cocktails and ecstasy." She states with a nod before giving Noah a firm look, "Which she took before I happened upon her."

"She hemorrhaged into her eye two years ago." Mike points out and Santana rolls her eyes.

"Not medically relevant."

"How is that not relevant?" you scoff.

"Well…" Santana begins slowly, turning her gaze to you, "Seeing as the retinal vein occlusion was fixed…kinda eliminates that aspect." She shrugs smartly with a mocking smile, "Besides her doctor said it was a venous anomaly."

"Yeah well, is her doctor in the room?" you ask, tilting your head upwards, "Because, it doesn't really matter what they said as of now, unless they happened to be there last night when she had the seizer." You grind your teeth and Santana clenches her jaw.

"Okay, what is going on with everyone today?" Mike asks, back in his spot, leaning back in the chair with his hands out to the sides in confusion. "Puck and Santana's issue I can understand but…what the hell is going on with you two?" he frowns, motioning between the two of you.

"Nothing."

"Can it, Chang." You and Santana snap in sync and Mike lifts his brows, lifting his hands in defense.

"Look," Noah shouts in annoyance and frustration, holding his hands out in front of him, looking at all three of you as he leans forwards, pressing his hands against the table top, "You two obviously have shit to work out, whatever it is, so fucking deal with it. On your own time. Right now I need you to fucking focus on the patient." He says lowly, piercing both you and Santana with pointed glares.

"What if the eye problem wasn't her vein, but with her blood?" Mike asks, trying to break the tension as you roll your eyes from Santana. "It would explain why she's always tired and why she seized."

"Or it's because she parties until 3:00am every night." Santana shrugs and you roll your eyes, looking up as you shake your head.

"Says you." You mutter and are pinned with a look from Noah. "Sorry." You mumble.

"She's visited four doctors in the past year." Santana points out, ignoring you, "None of them found anything. She's just a hypochondriac who drank too much."

"Blood clots explain everything." You say, getting everyone's attention, and you lean against the table with your hip. "Bone marrow's in overdrive, too many platelets."

Noah looks down at the table and you watch him nod thoughtfully before he looks to Santana, "Go get a marrow biopsy from her pelvis." You clench your jaw, looking down and glance up when Noah says your name. "Go with her."

Santana stops at the door, looking back with a disbelieving look as you try and find a polite way to say no.

"Um…no?" you say and Noah straightens, arching a challenging brow at you, "Noah, it's really not a good-"

"I don't care. Go with her and deal with your issues." He orders, pointing you towards the door. You glance from him to Santana, and sigh as you drop your arms, following after the Latina as she yanks the door open.

* * *

><p>You scowl at Santana as the two of you stand in the small lab room with Jenna lying on her right side, her backside revealed to Santana standing behind her, wiping an area of her skin with a cleansing solution.<p>

Jenna blinks up at you from looking at the bed beneath her and offers an awkward smile, nodding her head in greeting, "Uh, hi. I'm Jenna."

"She knows." Santana mumbles, readying the needle as you stand in front of the patient at her legs with your arms crossed, glancing from Jenna to Santana repeatedly. "I can do this alone, you do realize that?" Santana asks after huffing in annoyance.

You tighten your crossed arms and clench your jaws before unclenching, and looking around the room, "You've already done it. I guess that's why Noah wants me to chaperone. I'm not one to disobey my higher ups demands."

"That's rich, seeing as your first case you completely disregarded what any of us said-"

"Therefore saving my patient, sue me. That was when I didn't agree with any of you. I have no reason to go against what Noah tells me at the moment." You state firmly, looking at Santana as she glances up at you and then back down at Jenna, finishing setting the needle. "Although, let me know if you two have the desire to start kissing or groping, maybe even jumping into a shower, I'll be sure to give you some time alone." You add bitterly afterwards and Santana lowers her hands to her hips as she lets out a frustrated breath from her nose, glaring at you through her lashes.

"You'll have to excuse Dr. Pierce." Santana starts, pulling her glare from you to look at Jenna, "She's been a little moody as of late."

"I'm moody?" You laugh, nodding, "Okay."

"Wait…" Jenna says, propping her head up with her arm to look from Santana to you. "You're Dr. Pierce?" she asks with an arched brow and you straighten, glancing at Santana as Santana looks at Jenna in confusion.

"I am, why?"

"I…" Jenna begins before wincing and sucking in a sharp breath when Santana pushed the needle into her pelvis. "S-sorry, it's just Santana…"

"Santana what?" you ask quickly with lifted brows and Jenna winces again from the pain of the needle. "Let me guess, couldn't keep from complaining and insulting me along with the rest of her friends while you two were shacking up last night." You offer and Santana gives you a sharp look.

"L-look, obviously it's no secret we were together last night." Jenna says to you regarding her and Santana's affair, "And whatever you think we did…we did, probably more." You scowl faintly.

"Lights on or off?"

"I'm sorry do you have a medical rationalization for that?" Santana asks in annoyance.

"Light sensitivity."

"On." Jenna shrugs and Santana gives her an incredulous look.

"Hmm," you hum, looking at Santana with narrowed eyes, "Figured she'd more shame than that." You say as Santana stares at you. "She talk dirty or more so hand signals?" you push further as Santana grabs another part for the biopsy, giving you the dirtiest look while you just smirk tauntingly.

"She's pretty direct about what she wants to be honest." Jenna admits and Santana pushes the second part in with the needle, Jenna jaw dropping as she winces in pain.

"Really…" you draw out and Santana tenses, shaking her head to focus on her task as you continue to provoke a reaction. You watch Santana push down with some of her weight to push the needle further into the bone and glance at Jenna before wetting your lips and shifting, holding your head higher while reaching for a pad of paper and a marker. "Alright, scale of one to ten." You say.

"Seriously, Pierce?" Santana snaps, whipping her head in your direction. "Do not answer that." She tells Jenna while keeping her eyes on you and you hold back a grimace when you hear the needle go through the bone.

"Seven," she grunts with a wince and you're smirk grows as Santana looks at Jenna with wide, disbelieving eyes.

You click your tongue and turn the pad of paper around, displaying the large seven written in pen, the cap between your teeth as you smile at Santana and Jenna, "Would you look at that." You chuckle, putting the cap back on the marker as Santana's brows lift higher in even more disbelief. _Seven_, she mouths to herself. You give her a pointed look and she lets out a shaky breath before directing her gaze to her task at hand. You just smirk.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: One step forwards and two steps back, right? Don't freak out! We're on the right path, just a little obstacle. Brittany trying to provoke Santana...that was so fun. Let me know what you think! Update Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on when I remember to do it. :)**

**-B**


	23. Chapter 25

**A/N: I'm glad you're all liking it this much, haha. Thanks for the feedback and follows/favs, it's great. Someone commented on doctors being able to treat people they know, and yes but when it comes to sleeping with a patient no. So that's what Noah and them are talking about, even though Jenna wasn't Santana's patient when it went down.**

**I feel like it's half and half regarding Brittany's attitude last chapter lmao. maybe not exactly half and half but yeah. Some of you weren't too happy about bitchy Britt, which I can understand, and you pointing out it's unprofessional and all that, that was kind of the point, so yeah, but I get it. So here is the next chapter.**

**-B**

* * *

><p>February, 2015:<p>

"We had to use the paddles to stabilize her heart." Santana says with a sigh as you, Mike, and Noah come to stop beside her outside the patient's room. She looks over her shoulder at you before pulling her gaze away and turning to Noah. "You were right. She's not faking."

"Can I ask what you were doing in her room when this happened?" Mike asks curiously, his hand raised in the air.

You look from him to Santana as she sighs and crosses her arms, "I found out she was trying to get Noah to take her case for over a year and yeah…she used me."

"You mean like you used her." You point out and Santana spins on you.

"Okay, what the fuck is your problem?" she snaps and you just lift an unamused brow at her. "Seriously, you're being completely and utterly intolerable."

"Really? According to Quinn you've been even more of a bitch than usual lately." You laugh, "At first I didn't believe it but wow, you really are terrible." You say with a shake of your head and Santana scowls at you.

"Okay, enough!" Noah hisses, pushing the two of you apart. "I thought I told you two to talk out your damn issues?"

"Don't be an idiot." Santana says, pulling away from him to run her hands through her hair before crossing her arms.

"Eye issue, brain issue, and now a heart issue." Noah says each one firmly, looking from Santana to you and you let out a breath as you look at the ground, "It could possibly be the drugs."

"I thought you crossed them off?" Mike asks and Noah nods, glancing at Santana.

"But now, cardiac arrest means she could be a serious user."

"Great." She laughs sarcastically before shaking her head.

"What?" Mike asks and you look at Santana.

"This means either she brought something to my place or took something from my medicine cabinet. Either way Puck is going to search it because he doesn't believe me when I say I haven't done any of that shit in years."

"Since when is searching houses a thing we do?" you ask in confusion and Mike chuckles while Santana shakes her head.

"We've done it once or twice." He winks as Noah keeps his stare on Santana, "We do it when we suspect something in the patients house."

"And patients just hand the keys over?" you ask in disbelief.

"No." Santana grumbles, "If they know we're going to search the house then they'll try to hide things that we may confiscate."

"So you break in." You state and look at Noah who shrugs before looking at Mike, the Asian man doing the same. "Seriously?" you ask. "Can't you go yourself?"

Santana tenses and glances at you before shaking her head, "The only person that's been to my place is Quinn and it kills Puck that he hasn't been invited over, which is why he's going to make up some bullshit medical reason for me to have to stay here while he scopes it out." She says, looking at her cousin knowingly as he shrugs.

"Patients dad had bypass surgery. Which means she's a candidate for atherosclerosis. Get an ultrasound." He grins mockingly.

"You're not getting my keys so if you want to get in I'm coming with you." Santana gives him her own smug smile and Noah arches a brow.

"Pierce, can you pick a lock?" he asks and you straighten with wide eyes.

"Well…yeah but…" you say shaking your head and Noah nods.

"Great, let's go. Chang you make sure she gets the ultrasound done." He instructs as both you and Santana tense. He looks back at you and motions for you to follow him and you gape like a fish before closing your mouth and keeping your head down as you follow him.

* * *

><p>You crouch down and Noah hands you a small kit. You open it and take out the two thin picks to unlock the door while shaking your head at him.<p>

"You're her cousin and you're breaking into her apartment." You point out and Noah chuckles behind you as you squint, maneuvering the picks up and down, back and forth in the key hole.

"Five years and I haven't been to her place. We're blood yet she doesn't trust me enough to open up." He says as you turn the picks simultaneously, unlocking the lock. You pull the picks out, putting them away and hand the kit back to Noah before standing up. "By the way, I know how Mike knows how to pick a lock, along with Santana, but you?"

"A story for a rainy day, Noah." You say airily, brushing your pants off as he opens the door and you follow him inside. You don't know why but you were a little nervous about looking through Santana apartment. You'd be nervous about breaking into anyone's apartment and looking around but it being Santana's just adds to it; especially with the condition of your relationship as it was.

You don't know why you kept pushing her in the lab or outside the patient's room. Well…no okay you do, but you weren't that type of person.

And this was just wrong.

You stand at the door as Noah hands you latex gloves, pulling his own on, and look up from your hands to watch him stalk around the open apartment.

"You know, with how secretive she is I'd always thought there was a reason for it." He says, looking around her kitchen, "Like a sex swing or something." He nods as you roll your eyes. "Come on, Pierce, sooner we find something the sooner we can leave. You can start with the bedroom." He says and you pause mid step, snapping your head around to look at him in shock. He slowly lifts his head up from behind the island and arches a brow. "Well?"

"Uh, y-yeah." You nod and quickly head to her bedroom. You glance back over your shoulder, Noah's head under the kitchen sink, and push her room door open.

The first thing you notice is the unmade bed, causing you to clench your jaw in jealousy. You pick up a hideous blue sweater from the foot of the bed and think there is no way Santana would wear that, scowling when you realize its Jenna's. You squish it into a ball and throw it to the ground before sitting on the edge of the bed and opening one of the night table drawers. You furrow your brows at the inhaler and close the drawer with your foot, glancing around before you see the bathroom off the bedroom and head over.

"So, Pierce," Noah calls coming into the bedroom.

"In here." You call, squinting as you read the label on the prescription bottle.

"What's going on with you and my cousin?" he asks, leaning against the door frame. You put the medicine back and close the cabinet door gently, looking at him in the mirror as you shrug.

"We just got into a disagreement a few days ago."

"A few days meaning like two weeks ago." He chuckles, "We're not all oblivious around you. You two at Kurt's party looked pretty comfortable with the other, and the next time I see you, it's like your first day, only worse." He says and you lean back against her sink as you listen, nodding softly.

"I don't know. Like I said, we argued, she stopped talking to me. Today has been the most we've spoken since we've been back from the holiday." You tell him and he gives a tight smile before you do a double take and furrow your brows. "What's that?" you ask.

* * *

><p>"Brown Recluse. We found it at your apartment." Noah says to Santana when you two walk into the office after returning from her apartment.<p>

You sink into one of the chairs as Santana leans forwards to look at the spider in the little clear jar Noah placed on the table.

"Their venom can cause seizures and heart problems." He adds, sitting on the edge of the table next to Santana as she scrunches her nose at the arachnid. "Did the ultrasound show anything?"

"No." she says quickly before leaning back in her chair with crossed arms, "What room did you find it in?"

"Bathroom." You tell her and Noah smiles.

"Nice, bidet by the way."

Santana rolls her eyes as do you, Mike chuckling as he walks in.

"All I heard was nice bidet." He cracks an amused grin and folds his arms, standing near you and looks down, "What'd I miss?" he asks you before looking at Santana, "Also, you have a bidet?"

"I don't have a bidet." She states with an irritated look.

"Besides the spider, guess what else I found?" Noah grins slowly, Santana's brows lifting slowly as you watch worry move across her face. You look at Noah when he pulls Santana's inhaler from his pocket and frown.

"When did you even…"

"Yes, my inhaler is so fascinating. It comes with its own extensive online following." Santana scoffs as Noah shakes his head, placing the inhaler on the table next to the spider.

"Firstly, why do I not know you need this, we're cousins. That's something I should know. And second, the face you made when you knew I had something in my pocket, not knowing it was your inhaler, is crap, Lopez. That just means there is something at your apartment you're worried I would find." Noah sighs, clasping his hands in his lap as he looks at her with a semi hurt expression.

"Look people don't need to know everything about me." Santana says.

"But why would you hide asthma?" Mike asks in confusion.

"I…Look it doesn't matter. What matters is that this spider bite thing is irrelevant unless the patient actually got bit." She state loudly in annoyance getting up.

"Woah, where are you going?" Noah asks, holding his hand out to stop Santana. She turns slowly on her heels and lifts her shoulders.

"To do the exam." She says as if it was obvious and Noah chuckles, shaking his head.

"No. Pierce will do the exam."

"Why me?" you ask, glancing towards Santana as she furrows her brows with crossed arms.

"Because you haven't slept with her."

"Exactly why I should do it. I've seen it all before so she wouldn't be as uncomfortable."

"Sure." Noah nods before whistling and pointing you to the door. You get up reluctantly with a huff and fix the sleeves of your lab coat as you leave the room.

* * *

><p>You slow as you come to stop in front of Jenna's room and look at her through the glass as she stares up at the ceiling, tapping her hands on her stomach.<p>

You really didn't want to have to do the exam. The girl Santana just slept with. And you have to basically grope her naked for a freaking spider bite. Do spiders even bite anymore? Hasn't that been done with Spiderman once already? You groan quietly in frustration and step into the room, getting the patients attention, and close the door behind you, moving to the blinds.

You pull on the string, closing the blinds and blocking the view from the hall into the room before scratching your head and barely casting her a glance as you grab some gloves from the tiny cabinet.

"I'm going to need you to take off your gown." You tell her, glancing over your shoulder before wincing when the end of the glove snaps against your wrist.

"Can I ask why exactly?" Jenna asks, sliding off the bed to her feet.

"I need to check for a spider bite." You tell her walking over slowly as she begins to untie the gown.

"I think I would've felt a spider biting me." She chuckles as you lift your brows.

"Not necessarily." You tell her firmly, stopping to stand in front of her. She arches a brow and you motion for her to remove the gown. She shakes her head with an amused chuckle and pulls it from her body, tossing it back onto the bed as you glance over her.

"Why did they send you? Why not Santana?"

"I don't know." You tell her, stepping forwards while lifting her right arm out to the side, running your hand over her skin. She hums and you keep your eyes on her arm, feeling her watch you, and glance at her as you run your hand back and down her side.

She takes a breath and wets her lip, looking at your eyes, "She was pretty upset earlier."

"You used her." You point out and she laughs.

"And she used me."

"Something tells me her motives were quite clear when you met." You tell her, moving your hand over her stomach and go to her other side, running your hand up. "Something also tells me this was a one night stand and she didn't intend on seeing you again." You mumble, moving behind her. You run your hands across her should blades and down her arms before crouching down, leaning away from her backside.

"And something tells _me_ that there is something between the two of you that has nothing to do with work." She comments as you pause from letting your hands roam over her back. You clench your jaw, staring at the barely visible bumps of her spine, and let out a breath. You stand up and lift her left arm out to the side, mirroring what you did with her right when she speaks again, "You like her, don't you?" she more so states than asks and your hands freeze as you stare ahead at the wall.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you clearly aren't fond of me and all you know about me is that Santana and I slept together." She shrugs and you put your hands on her shoulders, telling her to keep still. "Then there was the whole ordeal during the marrow biopsy."

You hum, moving her hair over her shoulder to look at her neck, and check behind her ears.

"I'm guessing you slept together too."

"Why do you say _that_?" you repeat distractedly, squinting as you move your hands down her spine, your eyes following the movement.

"It took her two drinks and a smile to get me in bed with her. You're with her all day every day. I don't know you, and I mean no offence, but there isn't any way you could resist her charm."

"That's suggesting I'm into women." You say, running your hands over her hips.

"You don't have to be into women to be into Santana." She laughs, "Also, I saw you check me out." She says and your brows lift in complete shock as she looks back at you, smiling faintly, "I'm sure you'd match her seven, maybe top it." She says softly, looking at your lips as yours part, and she leans in, her nose almost brushing yours when you pull your head back with furrowed brow. "You didn't have to move your hand." She chuckles and you blink and shake your head, furrowing your brows further.

"I didn't." you say, looking at your hand on her hip, "My hands on your hip, you can't feel that?" you ask, tapping your finger against her hip.

Jenna looks at your hand and you look at her, your eyes searching as she glances back, shaking her head, "No. Is that bad; what does that mean?"

"It means it's not a spider bite."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Jenna you slut. Just hitting on Brittany too. Damn woman. But Brittany no fall for dat, nah nah nah. Update for Friday? or wait until Sunday to get back into the original groove?**

**-B**


	24. Chapter 26

**A/N: Friday it is! Okay, laughing at your comments about Jenna because omg. And holy hell, BRITTANA EP TONIGHT! So excited, my god. Here's chapter 26. Hope you enjoy, loves! Mwah!**

**-B**

* * *

><p>February, 2015:<p>

You walk into the office with a full coffee the next morning, needing a strong kick than tea provides, not having relaxed with having to treat Santana's most recent lover. Mike lifts his head from table, and drops his chin into his hand tiredly as Noah stirs a coffee at the counter.

"Morning." You greet lightly, placing your mug on the tale before pulling on your lab coat.

"Blood tests confirm low potassium level." Santana says as she burst through the doors to the office, stopping right before bumping into you. You look at her in surprise as she glances to Noah, holding the test results out. "That explains the numbness in her hip."

"The low potassium means her heart problem was a symptom of her kidney problem." Noah says, sinking into a chair as Santana crosses her arm beside you, listening intently. You cover a yawn and take a big sip of coffee, running a hand through your wavy hair. "So what caused the kidney problem?"

"I.G.A Nephropathy?" Santana suggest and you scrunch your nose, giving a small shake of your head.

"Not without blood in her urine." You comment tiredly.

Santana looks at you and furrows her brows, "P.S.A.G.N?"

You blink and shrug, lifting the coffee to your lips once again. Santana grabs the coffee from you, holding her hand out for your answer and you huff, "Santana, I'm tired. Give me my caffeine." You tell her.

"You all need to wake the hell up. The sooner we figure out what's wrong with her, the sooner she can leave." She says.

"P.S.A.G.N doesn't fit. Her blood pressure is normal."

"Renal Tubular Acidosis." Santana states and you groan, reaching for your coffee. Santana switches it to her other hand and holds it away from you, looking at Mike and Noah for agreement. "Her kidneys don't filter out the acid in her blood. Excess acid drives down potassium; causes kidney calcifications." She explains, lifting her brows suggesting the possibility.

"Santana, I will snap you in half." You snap and everyone looks at you in surprise as you snatch the coffee from her. "I'm tired and I get moody." You explain with narrowed eyes.

"If it's RTA she'll only need sodium bicarbonate for the acid and the surgery to remove the calcifications. CT her kidneys." Noah nods, lifting his coffee, "If we see calcifications we have our diagnosis." He says and Santana nods quickly, leaving the room as you watch her go.

"So, Brittany," Mike chuckles and you look at him, "Rough morning?"

"Don't start with me." You warn him with a playful eye roll, taking long sip of coffee before motioning for Mike to follow you after Santana.

* * *

><p>You were helping Mike in the operation room, taking Santana's place due to her relationship with the patient. You had on the scrubs, hat, and mask, everything after washing to your elbows.<p>

You look at the CT monitor and squint your eyes, "CT shows one more calcification near the superior pyramid on the left kidney." You tell Mike, looking at him as he holds the two tools in his hands, almost needle like with one having a camera on the tip which was as of now inside Jenna. Mike moves the tools towards the left kidney to see and you nod, glancing to him before looking back at the monitor.

"I see it."

You watch the screen as Mike moves the camera to the side, and see the second tool move forwards towards the buildup. The tool sucks the buildup away and you nod, watching the screen as Mike slowly retracts the tools.

"Alright, let's close the incisions." Mike says, handing the tools to one of the others in the room. You let out a sigh and look at him with a faint smile.

"Nice, she won't even have a scar."

He chuckles and nods before you both look towards the monitors when it starts beeping erratically.

"Her O2 stats are dropping." you say and he curses under his breath as you watch her 73 drop to 69 and continue "Did you nick something?" you question and Mike shakes his head squinting at the screen.

"Procedure was clean. Her BP is strong…" he says in confusion as you look at the monitor, moving one of the others out of your way.

"Yeah, well she's not breathing." You say and he shakes his head in confusion, "We need to incubate." You tell him, reaching for the metal curved tool. Mike nods and removes her mask as you reposition her head, tilting her chin up a bit and stand at her head, looking down at her. You open her mouth and glance at Mike before lifting the tool and slide it into her mouth, and throat, the beeping continuing.

Mike grabs the next bit and hands it to you, and you slide it in before pulling the metal out and grabbing the artificial lung, clipping it at the top of the tube in her throat, squeezing the air into her lungs and let out a breath when her O2 begins to regulate. You look at Mike and he lifts his shoulders.

* * *

><p>"Her breathing problem started after we fixed the kidney. Which means RTA isn't the underlying cause." Mike says as you stand in Noah office portion of the diagnostic off, his arms crossed as you step back from putting the x-ray on the panel<p>

Noah rubs his face and his pause before he looks at you and Mike with narrowed eyes, "Where's Lopez?"

You and Mike look at each other before looking back at Noah and shrugging, having no idea where she is. "It's not her lungs. No masses, no infiltrates." You tell him and he nods, leaning back in his desk chair as he and Mike look at the x-ray.

"Her lungs are working but she still can't breathe."

"Distribution plant can't distribute without it's deliveries." Mike says with a shrug and you glance at him with an arched brow. "If the lungs are fine, maybe the problem is in the supply lines. Airway collapse." He suggests and you purse your lips in thought, nodding faintly.

"Makes sense." You agree, holding your hand out as you glance between Mike and Noah, "That could signal an autoimmune or some kind of dystrophy as the underlying cause."

"Only one way to find out." Noah nods before grabbing the phone on his desk and punching in numbers, bringing it to his ear, "Get her on a treadmill. We'll do a methacholine challenge." He says and you both nod before leaving the room, not before hearing, "Where the hell are you?" being grumbled into the phone.

* * *

><p>You step out of the bathroom stall and go to the sink to wash your hands before leaving the room. You walk down the hall and slow, furrowing your brows when you hear arguing in hushed voices. You move to the end of the wall and glance around the corner, widening your eyes as Santana rolls her eyes at when Noah is saying to her.<p>

You've never seen him this ticked off with her and to be honest you're kind of nervous. If he snaps, he could really hurt her, not that he would, but everyone has their breaking point.

"You need to get your god damn act together, Santana." He scolds and she crosses her arms tightly over her chest as Noah turns and paces in front of her. "For god sakes. We could've used you at the differential. Do you not think you need to follow the rules as everyone else does? Just because we're family does not give you leeway."

"Please, we both know it does." Santana laughs coldly and Noah stops pacing, straightening as he unbuttons his suit jacket, putting his hands on his hips.

"You're right. It did. But not anymore." He says sternly, giving her a serious look and you lift your brows higher, "I mean it, prima, whatever you have going on in that head of yours that is making you a complete mess…you need to deal with it. Whatever you're doing, needs to stop."

"For fuck sakes, Puck! I am not taking drugs." Santana hisses, pushing her head forwards, "I haven't since the last time I said I wouldn't. I haven't broken that promise."

Noah shakes his head, looking towards you and you step back quickly out of his line of sight and rest your head back against the wall.

"You're my baby cousin, my sister basically. I should be able to trust what you're telling me right now but…Santana, I can't. You haven't been proving me wrong. I think…I think I should take you off the case."

"What?" Santana gasps as do you in surprise, "No. You can't. I should be here."

"I can't trust you right now. Not in this case. You're all about keeping your emotions in check during a case, but right now…Be glad I didn't fire you, prima." You hear him say before you hear his footsteps fade away.

You let your head fall back against the wall and look around before groaning and pushing away from it, turning the corner to see Santana staring at the wall with her jaw clenched.

"Hey." You say breathlessly and Santana glances at you before shaking her head and looking away. "Look, I'm sorry for how I've been trying to provoke you and everything. It's just with what happened last week and I don't know." You mumble lamely. "When you proposed that…idea, you said we were friends." You tell her and Santana looks at you with an arched brow, shrugging. "I just think it's ridiculous that because I said no, suddenly we're not anymore."

"What do you want me to say, Pierce?" Santana sighs defeated, running a hand through her hair. "This whole situation is fucked up. And I have to say it's your fault."

"How is it my fault?" you ask in disbelief and Santana cracks a faint grin and you roll your eyes. "You're an ass."

She chuckles and nods before you two fall silent.

"I'm sorry I've been an ass."

"And I'm sorry about the case. And Noah."

"Whatever, he's just trying to protect me." She rolls her eyes, "But the idiot doesn't realize I don't need it. He has convinced himself I'm blatantly lying to his face about substance that he doesn't even hear me when I speak."

"Yeah, what's going on with that?"

"That's a story for another time, Pierce." She says and you shrug and look around before sighing.

"You know…" you draw out, glancing at her with a twinkle in your eye. Santana looks at you and you grin, "You could always work on the case without it being your official case."

"I'm not following." Santana shakes her head in confusion and you roll your eyes, moving your hands to rest on her folded arms as you duck your head with a smile.

"Obviously you won't be able to administer medication but that doesn't mean you can't run tests we already have samples for or review her charts and file. Just like…come to me if you have something and I'll do the signing, you know?"

Santana slowly grins mischievously at the idea, nodding fondly at it before glancing at you, her smile falling. "I've been such a bitch, why would you even-"

"Because we're friends." You tell her before smiling softly, running your thumb over her wrist lightly. "And I trust you." You add with a shrug and watch her shoulders relax.

Santana takes a breath, letting it out slowly before nodding, "Okay."

"Okay."

* * *

><p>You lean over the lit table in the light box x-ray examination room, watching Santana as she runs her eyes over the image of Jenna's chest x-ray. She huffs and runs a hand through her hair, looking up at you as you offer a tight lipped smile.<p>

"I should've asked before but can you get me caught up?" she asks and you smile, moving to her side as you look at the x-ray. You scan over it before resting your right hand on the table, looking at Santana.

"The films are clean. We ruled out hypertension. Mike has her on a treadmill, running a methacholine challenge." You inform her and she nods, shifting her gaze from you to the film on the table. You watch her lips purse before they part and she wets them.

"Did you discuss whether this lung field looks a little dark?" she asks and you furrow your brows, leaning closer as you take a look, following her finger as she shows you the area.

"It's probably just a little over-exposed." You mumble and Santana slowly looks at you.

"Or her diaphragm is a little too flat." She suggests and you lift your brows. "It could be a sign of hyperinflation which…" she draws out, nodding to you.

You furrow your brows, looking again at the film and shake your head slowly, "Which suggests a pulmonary obstruction." You finish her thought.

"Lung cysts." You both say in realization.

"They wouldn't show on an x-ray." She says and you nod before you look at Santana, her eyes wide as she grabs your arm, "The treadmill isn't going to close her airway. It'll make her lungs explode." She says and you both hurry to find the patient as you rip out your cell and dial Mike's number.

* * *

><p>You and Santana rush through the doors and you stop, seeing Jenna on the floor with Mike kneeling beside her, checking her throat as Kurt checks over her.<p>

"We made her airway collapse, but it's not collapsed." Mike says to Kurt as you get moving, Santana pushing the door to treadmill room open.

"You ruptured a cyst." Santana states and you slow in the door behind her, watching her as she moves quickly to a table to the side as Mike shakes his head in confusion. "Her lung collapsed." She says as she moves to Jenna, unwrapping a needle from its wrapper.

"Breath sounds on both sides." Kurt says and you lightly pull him away by his arm to give Santana room as she grunts for Mike to move out of her way.

He jumps out of the way as Santana falls to her knees, checking Jenna's neck, "Trachea's deviating to the left." She states and stabs the open ended needle into the right side of her chest. Jenna coughs and gasps for a breath as Santana hangs her head in relief before glancing back at you.

She gives a faint smile in thanks and you nod, tucking your hair behind your ear as Jenna's breathing regulates.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Awwww, see their fight is over. Noah and Santana tho, man. Brittany and Mike's friendship is hilarious. I love them together in almost every ff. **

**Soooo, because I'm in a good mood right now, idk why, I will not be making ya'll wait until Tuesday. Next chapter will be up Sunday, and then we'll get back into the original swing of things, okay? Now I have to head out for coffee with my bud.**

**-B**


	25. Chapter 27

**A/N: Okay, we're back on track now, nice :) This one is a bit longer than the others so you don't have to endure that much medical drama in other chapters coming up. There are three parts in this chapter that I adore that I will let you in on at the bottom. But until then, here's chapter 27. Hope you guys like it ;) Also, from now on, I mean I could've done it from the beginning even though I didn't think of it, but would you guys want me to start giving brief descriptions of what each diagnosis is in the end Author's note when there is one in the chapter so you're more aware of what the hell is going on with the patient? Just let me know, I'll do it for this chapter anyway.**

**-B**

* * *

><p>February, 2015:<p>

"Chest CT confirmed multiple lung cysts, one of which burst during the treadmill test."

"Luckily, Santana was there to re-inflate her lung." You state, breaking Noah's narrowed gaze from his cousin. He looks at you before nodding at Mike to continue while you and Santana share a glance.

"Lung cysts plus all her other symptoms could be amyloidosis which we can manage or pulmonary fibrosis-"

"Thank you." Noah cut her off and Santana slowly closes her mouth her brows raised. "Pierce, Chang, you can biopsy the cyst."

"You took me off this case because you thought I couldn't handle it. I just proved to you-" Santana tries, her voice rising before Noah cuts her off once again.

"You just proved that you know how to make an entrance." He states and Santana clenches her jaw as you shake your head, looking at the carpet.

"Noah, she deserves another shot." You tell him as Santana stares at the window, shaking her head. Noah leans back in his chair and arches a brow at you, "She found the cysts and saved the patient." You add, holding your hand out towards Santana.

"So you two dealt with whatever issue you were having." He notes, "It took me removing one of you from the case for you to get your shit together. I shouldn't have to do that. You're professionals for crying out loud." He runs his hand over his shaved head and you cross your arms, "Besides, our patient wouldn't have needed saving if she decided to show up to the differential in the first place."

"Just bring her back on, Noah." You say in faint annoyance and he shrugs his shoulders.

"Or you'll what?" he asks knowingly and you clench your own jaw, looking at the ground. "Go do the biopsy." He orders and Mike moves first before you give Santana an apologetic look and follow after the Asian.

* * *

><p>You sigh heavily as you sink into the booth seat across from Santana. She lifts her head and you chew on your bottom lip while sliding her one of the lattes in your hand. She mumbles a thanks and you nod, taking a sip as you run over what you're going to tell her.<p>

"The biopsy of her lung cyst showed smooth muscle cells. She has LAM, Santana." You tell her and she lowers the latte from her lips. "Noah's getting the papers filed to do the surgery." You add and she slowly wets her bottom lip, lowering her gaze to the table top as she nods slowly.

"They'll just come back." She shrugs slowly, looking up at you and you nod reluctantly, "Little by little they're going to replace her lung tissue until…they stop working."

You nod and tighten your hands around the latte, watching Santana, "Noah believes she'll has about ten years."

Santana lifts her latte to her lips, staring far off as she sips.

"I thought you'd want to know before we tell her in case…"

"In case what?" she asks, "In case I want to tell her?" she asks with furrowed brows and you just look at her. She lets out heavy breath and shakes her head, "Pierce, I might handle delivering bad news a little better than you but I can't. Not to her, you know? It'll just make it worse." She says and you swallow, nodding as you get up. You grab your latte and stop from leaving when Santana grabs your wrist, squeezing gently, "Thank you." She says softly and you nod before leaving.

* * *

><p>You walk towards Jenna's room the next morning, flipping through her file trying to find an alternative diagnosis and smile politely in greeting as you pass a few nurses in the hall before coming to a stop at Jenna's room.<p>

You pause from lifting your hand to open the door when you see Santana sitting with Jenna, smiling faintly as they talk. You watch Santana's smile grow as she chuckles at whatever Jenna says and tilt your head when you focus on Jenna.

Her eyes were bright and smile wide as she watched Santana laugh, and you wet your lips, swallowing down the green monster pushing to creep its way up from inside you. You shake your head and open the door slowly, knocking with the hand holding the file as you offer the two smiles.

"Morning." Jenna smiles, sitting up further in her bed as Santana looks at you with a smile, nodding in greeting. She looks perfect even in leggings a hoodie and her hair in a ponytail. You clear your throat as you glance down and let out a breath as you walk over.

"Morning." You reply, standing at the foot of her bed, "How are you holding up?" you ask Jenna and she nods.

"I'm feeling okay. Santana's managed to take my mind off the situation."

"That's good." You say, looking at her file before glancing at Santana, her arms crossed as she itches to look at the file as well. You arch a brow and she lifts her gaze to your eyes, mumbling an apology as she straightens.

"I don't mean to be nosy but," Jenna asks with a chuckle, "Are you…I mean, I know you said you weren't," she tells you and your eyes widen slightly as you stare at her not daring to look at Santana when her head turns to you, "But were you together once? I'm just curious." She shrugs and you and Santana exchange awkward glances before shaking your heads, you clearing your throat.

"No, we're just friends." You tell her. "Anyway, I'm just here to look over your monitor." You tell her and move to her bed side, looking at the monitor and writing down her stats into the file. You finish the touch up on her chart and close the file as you give her and Santana a nod, stopping from leaving when you see something.

"What?" Santana asks, catching your furrowed brows, and you motion her over. She walks around to stand beside you as you move Jenna's gown to the side, revealing her wrapped side, blood seeping through the gauze. "Shit." She breathes, looking at you and you nod, straightening and run your hand through your hair.

"What's going on?" Jenna asks, her voice shaky, and you wet your lips.

* * *

><p>"All of her blood counts are down." Santana says as the two of you walk into the diagnosis office. Mike furrows his brows from getting a coffee and you frown, glancing around.<p>

"Where's Noah?"

"He had to talk to Schuester." He says while putting the spoon he used to stir his coffee on the counter, moving to the whiteboard, "So blood counts are down." He asks and you nod, moving closer to the board as Santana follows closely behind you. "It's a new symptom." He comments, writing it on the board.

"Aplastic Anemia." Santana suggests and you purse your lips in thought, nodding faintly.

You hear the door open and look behind you at Noah walking into the room with a binder in his hand. He stops when he sees Santana and looks at you and Mike with his shoulders lifted before looking at Santana.

"Lopez, you're off the case. What are you doing here?" he asks, moving to his office. You watch him open his door, placing the binder on his desk before he comes back out, arms crossed, "Go finish some clinic hours." He waves her towards the door and Santana lets out a heavy breath, glancing at you before shaking her head in defeat.

"Wait, Noah," you say, grabbing Santana's arm. Everyone looks at you and Noah lifts a brow while you shift, letting go of Santana, "Just let her do the case. She's already proved she can handle it. Sure it was difficult in the beginning but she's fine now." You tell him, "And to be honest, I think you're being a little too hard on her. You're letting your feelings get in the way of your medical judgment because she's family and you can't stand the thought of her breaking your trust. That's a personal issue, and if you were thinking and acting professionally, you'd let her back on the case because that's what's best for our patient." You tell him.

"Pierce, you don't really have a place to-"

"Listen, Puck, I agree with her." Mike says with a sigh and Noah lifts his brows, giving him an expectant look to explain. "Santana saved the patient. If it wasn't for her she's be dead right now. And yeah, you've been way too hard on her for this hook up thing. You're making it personal when our focus is supposed to be on Jenna."

Noah blinks and looks between the three of you as you look at Santana and back at Noah, "I trust her, Noah."

"It pains me to say it but I do too. When it comes to our patients." Mike chuckles and Santana rolls her eyes with a twitch of her lips.

"Thanks." Santana mumbles quietly and Mike nods, clapping her on the shoulder as he moves to sit at the table.

Noah nods slowly, keeping his arms crossed.

"Fine. You're back on the case."

You break into a smile and look at Santana as she blinks in disbelief, smiling, "But only because these two convinced me and I agree that I have made it personal. Our patient doesn't deserve that, and our best shot at helping her is with you back on board."

"Thanks, Puck." She smiles faintly and he nods, looking at the board.

"Low blood counts." He states, "So now if we don't figure out what's wrong with her she has days, not years." He says. "Aplastic anemia takes LAM off the table. Unfortunately none of our other choices are any better."

"PNH with some sort of respiratory infection." You say and Mike scratches his forehead.

"Best case gives her twelve years." Santana nods slowly, shifting on her feet, her arm brushing yours.

"Or fast-moving Langerhans." Mike offers with a held out hand.

"A few months." Santana states and you look at her. "Mastocytosis, which can cause systemic shock and kill her in days." She says to you and you lean back against the table, resting your hands on the table. Santana sits on the edge of the table and crosses her legs.

"Test for everything." Noah says and you all nod, getting up.

You, Santana, and Mike leave Noah in the office, heading for the lab and Santana grabs your wrist before you follow Mike to turn into a different hall, and you stumble back, looking at her in surprise.

"What?" you ask as Santana glances around before leaning up and pecking your lips quickly. You open your eyes and blink repeatedly in shock as Santana licks her lips and lifts her brows, nodding. "W-what…uh," you clear your throat, shaking your head, "What was that for?" you ask with a faint blush.

"I don't know." She says with furrowed brows, "Thanks, I guess? So y-yeah, let's…testing." She says and you nod.

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"Okay."

"Right." You stare at each other before the both of you turn and head after Mike.

* * *

><p>"This is taking forever." Mike mumbles, turning on his stool to face you across the room testing for other diseases.<p>

"Yeah well, what can you do?" you mumble in reply before huffing, "She doesn't have Langerhans."

Santana sighs heavily from the table next to you and you and Mike both look at her, "She's going to need a bone marrow transplant." She says, looking at you before glancing at Mike.

"You got something?" he asks, getting to his feet as you lift your brows.

"I don't know." She says and you furrow your brows as does Mike, while he crosses his arms.

"Santana, jumping to a marrow transplant without even knowing what she has-" Mike begins.

"She has a blood disorder." She shrugs as you lean forwards, resting your chin in your hand, listening, "Could be PNH, she'll need a marrow transplant. Or Leukemia, she'll need a marrow transplant. Or Thalassemia, and she'll still need a marrow transplant." She states.

"Okay, but she'll never survive total body irradiation."

Santana chews on her bottom lip and glances at you and you slowly drop your hand, lifting your head, "You're thinking we don't radiate her." You say and she shrugs.

"Her bone marrow is nearly wiped out already. Her counts almost zero."

"Almost is the key word there, Lopez." Mike says shaking his head in disbelief, "The new marrow will wipe out the old marrow. She'll die from graft-versus-host."

"I know but…look do we have any better ideas?" Santana asks, "Because I can't think of anything and the sooner we do something the sooner she gets better."

"Santana…" you say, getting up. She looks at you and you walk closer, stopping beside Mike as you run a hand through your hair, "This is crazy."

"I know." She nods. You stare at her as she shakes her head, stuttering to come up with something and tilt your head, glancing at her lips. "But we need something or-"

"Wait." You say slowly, stepping forwards. Santana watches you closely as you lean closer, looking at her lips and glances at Mike.

"What are you doing?" Mike asks in confusion as Santana looks back at you.

"Your lips are cracked." You tell her, glancing at her eyes. "Have you been using your inhaler lately?" you ask, leaning back with a thoughtful expression as Santana touches her lips.

"Uh, allergies. Why is this-"

You furrow your brows and look at Mike and see the light bulb go off in his head.

"She didn't cry." You tell him and his lips twitch upwards.

"What?" Santana asks in confusion and you look at her holding your hands out.

"When I told her she had LAM, that she was going to die. She didn't cry." You tell her with a growing smile as Mike starts to chuckle. He hits your arm lightly before heading out of the lab.

"Come on." He tells you both and you smile, grabbing Santana's hand to follow after him quickly.

"Brittany, what's going on?" she asks and you stop, her name leaving her lips for the first time and widen your eyes, your smile growing even further before you squeeze her hand and once again pull her after Mike.

* * *

><p>"Did you get the results back?" Noah asks as he bursts into Jenna's room, you and Santana to her left with Mike sitting on a stool on her left.<p>

"We didn't finish them." You tell him and he holds his hands out in question when Mercedes pokes her head in the room with an arched brow. She looks to you and walks in, holding out an onion.

"I don't know what the reason is and I don't know if I even want to know." She sighs, handing you the vegetable and a knife. You grin and hand them to Mike.

"Chopping an onion releases a mist of syn-propanethial- s-oxide, a chemical irritant that makes people have a very predictable reaction." He says while squinting and glancing away from the onion, blinking rapidly.

"What's going on?" Noah asks before Mercedes shushes him, her arms crossed and an intrigued look on her face. He lifts his brows and looks at you and Santana, both of you shaking your head.

"She has no tears." Santana says in disbelief when Mike holds the onion close to her face.

"She has sjogren's." you say to Noah, nodding towards Jenna. "It attacks the glands that produce tears and saliva."

"Which also cause lung cysts and RTA." Mike grins, handing Mercedes the onion.

"But it doesn't cause bleeding." Santana says and Mike shakes his head.

"Not usually but that doesn't mean it can't."

"Okay, but how did you get this from my cracked lips?" she asks, pulling her gaze from Mike to you and you nod.

"Lack of spit makes her mouth a breeding ground for a fungus like Candida." You explain while looking at her, "Your inhaler did the same for you. Wiped your mouths immune system."

"So wait, she has what I have?"

"Just the opportunistic infection, not the underlying condition." You state and Jenna nods slowly, looking at Santana.

"Methylprednisolone to get the sjogren's under control, and some artificial tears." Noah lists and Mike nods, squeezing Jenna's shoulder reassuringly before getting up and leaving the room to retrieve the medication.

* * *

><p>You park your car and stare ahead of you in thought. The case was over and it was an emotional rollercoaster for basically everyone but everything was back to normal.<p>

You and Santana were back to how you were and when before Santana left the Hospital you saw her and Noah smiling and laughing. You were happy they seemed to have talked and gotten passed what happened.

But since she left you couldn't help but think about how she kissed you quickly in the hall. Sure it was a peck, but it was basically a sweet nothing kiss that she did just because. It kind of made you think that maybe she did feel something for you. Maybe that's why she got so upset when you declined the friends with benefits invitation, because that was her way of getting closer to you.

You chew lightly on her bottom lip and look at your purse on the passenger seat. You look back ahead of you and grab your bag as you get out of the car, walking to the apartment building as you fish out your phone and dial a number.

"_Hello_?"

"Hey."

"_Pierce_?" Santana asks in confusion and you smile faintly.

"You already called me Brittany, Santana, you can't go back now." She chuckles faintly on the other end of the call and you open the door, stepping inside the heated building and head up the stairs.

"_So why'd you call_?"

"I saw you talking with Noah." You tell her and she hums.

She lets out a sigh and you pull your gloves off, putting them in your purse, unbuttoning your coat, "_Yeah, we talked a bit. He dropped the whole drug thing. I don't know if he completely believes me but it's a start._"

"At least you know you kept your promise." You tell her, heading up the next flight of stairs.

"_Yeah_." She sighs again.

"Santana?"

"_Hmm_?"

"I know…I uh," you shake your head stopping when you reach the apartment and run a hand through your hair.

"_Brittany_?" You look at the door and lift your hand knocking three times as you hold your breath. "_Hold on a sec."_ she tells you on the phone before you hear her moving to answer the door and you end the call, putting your phone in your purse as Santana opens the door. "Wha-" she starts in confusion, looking at her phone before hanging up and shaking her head faintly. "What are you doing here?" she asks and you shift, glancing around behind her before looking at her.

"That invitation of yours," you say, watching Santana's brows lift and her nod, "Is it still on the table?"

Santana's lips part and her brows rise higher in shock. "Uh…" she looks over herself before looking over her shoulder and nodding, turning back to you. "Yeah." Her lips twitch upwards and you smile sheepishly. You shift and she jumps, "Oh, now?" she asks and you let out a chuckle, shrugging.

"Well I'm here so…"

"Oh, yeah, okay." She nods and you chuckle, stepping into her apartment while taking off your jacket. She closes the door behind you and when she turns around you pin her to the door, kissing her heatedly.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Don't be mad! You must've known FWB was going to happen though. Who can stay away from Santana that long? You may not be fond of the whole Brittana FWB idea but I can assure you you'll be happy with the chapters it brings forth *wink wink*. So back to that diagnosis description idea. There were seven possible diagnoses on the table in this chapter, but I'm only going to do one because seven is a shit ton and would take a huge chunk of this authors note. **

**LAM (Lymphangioleiomyomatosis): **A progressive lung disease in which an abnormal growth of smooth muscle cells invade the lung tissue; including airways, blood and lymph vessels. They grown uncontrollably and over time the cells bundle in the walls of the airways and vessels, causing them to become obstructed. The breakdown of the cells cause the tissue to form cysts. The airflow is then blocked and limits the delivery of oxygen to the rest of the body (LAM Foundation).

**Sjogren's Syndrome: **A disorder of the immune system. The mucous membranes and moisture-secreting glands in eyes and mouth are affected first, decreasing the production of tears and saliva (Mayo Clinic).

**So if you want me to pick out one or two major diagnoses in chapters and tell you what they are then let me know. Doesn't matter either way, just thought some of you may want to know. Also, the 3 parts I liked most int his chapter: 1. Brittany trying to get Santana back on the case in the beginning of the chapter. 2. Brittany going boss on Puck and Santana's little peck. 3. Santana acting all surprised and cute when Brittany showed up at her apartment.**

**-B**


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